The Mystes With A Golden Flame
by MichiruxRyosuke
Summary: Wilhelmina Carmel x OC. Four Mystes set out to find a Mystes which may give them immortality. However, this Mystes has the ability to become undetected. Our heroines must find this Mystes before it falls into the wrong hands.
1. New Foes

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana, but I DO own Shakugan yes Shana, haha!! ^_^

Michiru: Japan never invented television.

Ryosuke: And what the hell does that gotta do with your fanfic??

(If I got certain names wrong, please PM me, it's been quite some time since I watched it, and I might make some mistakes.)

Chapter 1 – New Foes

This morning in Misaki City was just like any other day for every single living thing living there, that is living thing it is. But for our Flame Haze heroines, it was a different story.

Wilhelmina Carmel was walking in the busy streets after a day of shopping with plastic bags full in her hands. She headed to the direction of Yuji's house, walking by an alleyway, her mind thinking of what to do for the rest of the day. Afterall, Shana and Yuji have gone to school and Chigusa, Yuji's mother, had gone overseas to visit her husband, which was why Wilhelmina was temporarily living at Yuji's place. With that as the case, Wilhelmina would be home alone for the rest of the day until Yuji and Shana gets home and it would bore the hell out of her.

Wilhelmina was thinking about making lunch for them, but on the first day she cooked a meal for them, Shana vomited on the floor and Yuji was admitted into the hospital for food poisoning for three days. Then, for the remaining five days, they decided to buy their own meal outside, or eat in restaurants. Apparently, Wilhelmina was awful in cooking. She still remembered very well she set Chigusa's kitchen into ruins when she took the liberty and cooked.

Wilhelmina was deeply in her thought that she did not notice a figure standing on the roof and was watching her unknowingly. She also did not notice that a student with school uniform was running at her direction. When she noticed, the student had bumped into her and she fell to the floor due to lack of balance, her bags fell on the floor with her and melon buns dropped out of them.

The student neither apologized nor looked at her direction had hurried off. Wilhelmina, feeling a little angry, stood up and picked up her items one by one and stuffed them into her bags. She then turned towards the direction of her destination and found a figure standing there.

This figure was a male that looked like he was in high school. He had dark black hair and wore a black T-shirt with a white skull printed on it. On top of the skull writes a few numbers, "3:16". The bottom part of the body was filled with long khaki jeans and sneakers of the colors black and white.

Wilhelmina continued to stare at that person without making a sound. She did not know who that person is, but she knew that this guy was not a human. In fact, he was a……

"Mystes…" Wilhelmina whispered.

"Flame Haze," The guy replied.

For the next few minutes both of them continued to stare at each other, with the male Mystes advancing on Wilhelmina, extremely slowly.

"My name is Kojiro Takasu, a Mystes. Can you introduce yourself?" He said. He had a coarse voice which sounded like a yakuza. As a matter of fact, he had characteristics so much like a yakuza with his shirt and his muscles, although his facial appearance proved otherwise.

Wilhelmina said nothing.

"Well, keep your mouth shut. It's fine. I'll look you up on Facebook..." Kojiro said stupidly. He took out his phone and said, "I'll use the GPRS, I don't have my laptop with me right no- Wait a minute, why am I acting so stupid? I already know you! You're Wilhelmina Carmel, the Banjou no Shite! Ryosuke said so! (Ryosuke: Yahoo! Michiru put my name in his novel!) That's why I'm here!"

"Ryosuke?" Wilhelmina thought to herself. Was Ryosuke another Mystes same gang with Kojiro?

Kojiro then continued, "I know you're trying to protect this helluva Nowhereseville, but I've got something to do here. You see, Kuvestar told us to find this Mystes called G-" He suddenly stopped. "Now, dang! I told you too much!"

Kuvestar, Wilhelmina thought, must have been another Mystes who knew Kojiro well, and this name, too, was unknown to Wilhelmina.

"It seems that right now, I have to settle things with you! You know too many of our secrets AND you'll be thinking of ruining it!" Kojiro yelled. "Which is why, now, you're going to meet Hades!"

Kojiro lifted his hand above his head and clutched it. The skies of Misaki City suddenly turned red. The Fuzetsu was apparently activated. Then, Kojiro put his hands in front of his face, similar to what John Cena does when he uses Five Knuckle Shuffle, but of course, Kojiro wasn't shaking his hands. It was almost like his hand was a hundred percent stationary.

Suddenly, his hands, covered with skin, suddenly changed. The colors of his hand suddenly turned grey and began to look a little shiny. His hand turned into steel.

"I haven't fully introduced myself, huh? I'm Kojiro Takasu, otherwise known as Shinigami no Te." He said and was beginning to smirk at Wilhelmina.

Wilhelmina knew things were getting serious. Kojiro wanted a battle and she must defend herself. With a flash, Tiamat, Wilhelmina's Persona, transformed into a mask and Wilhelmina wore it. She then conjured some ribbons out of nowhere and pulled its end with her both hands.

Kojiro chuckled, "This would be interesting. Make sure you entertain me, okay?"

Wilhelmina replied softly, "Stop stealing Bel Peol's lines."

"Yeah, whatever," Kojiro said in an Inuyasha-ish sound, "You won't be seeing tomorrow anyway, so why do you even bother?"

Tiamat, which was always quiet, said in a monotone suddenly, "Be careful. I can tell that it's strong."

Kojiro smiled and said, "Hey, thanks for the compliment! I didn't know you think so highly of me! I'm honored!"

Wilhelmina made the tip of her ribbon sharp, grabbed it and threw it at Kojiro while he did his talking. However, Kojiro was not stupid. He grabbed Wilhelmina's incoming ribbon and squeezed it with all his might. "I said I won't let you!" he said with a grin.

Wilhelmina rolled her eyes. Kojiro seems to have a habit of stealing people's lines.

"Yes, I know, I know. I didn't pay the copyright fees, okay, okay… But so what? There's a reason behind me doing this, wanna know why?" Kojiro said. After pausing for a second, he continued (And Wilhelmina did not say she wants to know, ass!) ,"Did you remember the previous time you've battled with the Senpen? Remember what happened? HAHA! You got owned! All he did was attack your shield- err... Should I call it shield? Maybe tissue paper would be better, haha! AND YOU ENDED UP WITH A BLOODY FACE AND GOT YOUR MASKED FORM DEACTIVATED! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! And this is your fate for today when you have me as your battle opponent!"

Wilhelmina clutched her fists in anger. Trust Kojiro in reminding her a past that she longed to forget. His arrogance, his stupid voice and even his stupid habit of stealing people's lines, she hates him! She then fired a couple of deadly ribbon missiles at Kojiro's direction, which found it's mark and exploded. Smoke engulfed the spot which the missiles just hit.

"Did I do it?" Wilhelmina thought. She knew the battle could not have ended so easily. "Not by just one hit," she thought.

All of a sudden, Kojiro charged at Wilhelmina from the depths of smoke. His fists clenched, "That's the best you can give me? This is so wasting my time! Whatever! I'll quit playing and I'm outta here!"

Kojiro aimed a punch at Wilhelmina's face, but Wilhelmina dodged it. Kojiro leaped away and landed with virtually no sound, although he landed hard. "I see, such slow evasion rate…"

Kojiro charged at Wilhelmina for the third time, this time without warning, and Wilhelmina was caught off guard. She opened her eyes wide in shock. "How fast!" she thought.

Kojiro , who was centimeters in front of Wilhelmina, smirked and said, "And you wanna know why I stole Gyakuri no Saisha 's lines? Because, if I'm not mistaken, your previous encounter with her, you got hit in the belly twice and only receiving two attacks you were sprawling on the floor and moaning! HAHAHA! And right now, history will repeat itself again!"

Kojiro's fists made hard contact with Wilhelmina's belly.

"!!!!!" Wilhelmina let out a loud cry and coughed blood out of her mouth. She was lifted off the ground and hit the floor with another yelp of pain. Wilhelmina tried to stand up, but it was impossible. The pain on her belly was unbearable. She kneeled on the floor, clutched her belly and shook vigorously while squeaking , "Sskk…Sskk…Skk…Skk…"

Kojiro walked towards Wilhelmina and let out a loud laugh. "Another one-hit KO victory!" He said proudly.

Wilhelmina's eyes began to water in pain. She had never felt like this before. It almost felt like an airplane had driven across her belly. Back then when Bel Peol hit her belly with her weapon the pain was already too much for her, and now… A belly punch from the Shinigami no Te with his hand made of steal and with such powerful force, it could almost break diamonds, the hardest thing in the world. (I think….)

Kojiro looked on laughing loudly as Wilhelmina continued to whimper in pain. "So much for the so called legendary _Banjou no Shite_!" He said Wilhelmina's nickname with Draco Malfoy's tone. "Now kneeling in front of me and whimpering, wanting to hide in her granny's skirt! HAHAHAHA! Golly, you are SOOOOO pathetic!"

Kojiro suddenly grabbed Wilhelmina's hair and held her face towards his. "Banjou no Shite dies here! Goodbye!"

Wilhelmina's eyes became as round as coins as she heard what Kojiro said. "No!" She thought to herself, "I cannot die! Not here! Not like this!"

Kojiro's fists was about to make second contact with Wilhelmina's belly, until a bolt of electricity came out of nowhere and hit them.

"Ow!" Kojiro let out a yelp and let go of Wilhelmina, who fell on the floor and was struggling to keep her eyes open. "What the hell are you doing, Zeus?" He yelled.

The person came into Wilhelmina's blurry view. She could not picture out the second person, but knew it was his voice, as he sound completely different from Kojiro.

"What the hell do _you_ think _you're_ doing?" Zeus retorted.

"Oh," Kojiro said with a startle, then laughed apologetically, "I guess… I got carried away? Heheh… After all, I'm bored! How are we supposed to find a Mystes which we may never find?"

"You're just impatient." Zeus snapped. "When there's a will, there's a way."

"Yeah, right…" Kojiro retorted sarcastically.

"You know how useful it is to us,".

"True… true…"

"Let's go. Kuvestar wants to see us."

"Hm… maybe he found the Mystes himself! Then my work is done for today!"

"Yeah, you wish."

Wilhelmina heared the two Mystes leap into the air. She felt too weak to open her eyes and stay awake, let alone to lift herself up. She also felt the Fuzetsu was gone, and a few seconds later, someone kneeled on her side and shook her.

"What the? Are you okay? What happened? Hang in there, I'll send you to the hospit-" The person said, but Wilhelmina cut across him and said in an extremely weak tone, "Don't… Hospitals…" If she was admitted to the hospital, the doctors may ask for her identity and may even find out that she was not a human. She could not let that happen.

"B-but…" The person stammered, "You're hurt…"

"Please…" Wilhelmina mustered all her strength and said this one word. She could not hang in there anymore, her head was dizzy and her belly was undergoing excruciating pain. Upon finishing the word, Wilhelmina Carmel fainted.

Ryosuke: Yeah! Michiru, you wrote my name in your novel! I love you man!

Michiru: I'm not a gay, friend.

Ryosuke: Oh well, by the way, is Kojiro a bad guy?

Michiru: Hey, after what happened to Wilhelmina you're saying he's a good guy? Lol"

Ryosuke: And he's cahoots with me- I mean, that Ryosuke?

Michiru: Did you not read the story thoroughly?

Ryosuke: Which means, Ryosuke is a bad guy.

Michiru: So?

Ryosuke: SO?? I'M YOUR FRIEND AND YOU PUT ME AS A VILLAIN???!!!!????!! I WANNA BE A HERO!

Michiru: Calm down! Not everybody can become a hero, friend!

Ryosuke: Calm down? Calm my ass! I'm gonna kill you!

Michiru: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	2. New Kid on the Block

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana, but I DO own Shakugan yes Shana, haha! ^_^

* * *

Michiru: Football, or soccer was not originated from England, but China.

Ryosuke: Like I care, I prefer baseball. And the hell does it got to do with your fanfic?

* * *

Chapter 2 – New Kid on the Block

Yuji Sakai and Shana were walking to school. It was a few steps towards the school gate when they heard a bunch of girls gossiping. Yuji paused to hear them, for the whispering got louder and louder until virtually the whole street could hear the commotion.

"Hey! Shiina-senpai! Kaname! Asagiri-senpai!" A girl arrived in a hurry, trying to meet up with her now gossiping friends, shouted from a distance.

"Oh, Takasu! Just in time! We were just about to head into class," One of the gossiping girls said as Takasu got in front of her and panted as if she had finished a 10 kilometer marathon.

"What? What?" Takasu panted. "You sound like you have a fat juicy rumor!"

"Yeah!" The girl said, "We're gonna have a new transfer student today!"

"Whoa!" Takasu squeaked, "For real? How come nobody's informed?"

"No idea," piped up another girl, "I found out in one of the tables of the teachers' in the Faculty Room yesterday. I saw his picture and he looked so dashing and cool!" The girl finished in a dreamy voice.

Takasu began to go red, "A… A guy?"

"Yeah! Didn't you hear what I just said?"

"S-S-So… Which year is he in? Did you see?"

"Huh? I was busy looking at his face I didn't even notice the teacher behind me and… It got me into trouble, the teacher said I was guilty of stealing…"

Takasu sighed, "You could have informed me… I wish he's same class with me…"

"In your dreams…"

It was then when Yuji suddenly realized that Shana was nowhere to be seen.

"Uh-oh!" Yuji said to himself and quickly dashed towards his classroom, hoping and praying that Shana was safe and sound. To his relief, she was.

"Were you daydreaming?" Shana asked grumpily with her arms folded, her face irritated.

"I… Well… sorry…" Yuji stammered.

"You were looking at them." Shana said.

"H-Huh? Wha… No! I wasn't I was just hearing about the transfer student that's all! I didn't look at their skirt flaps…"

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Shana yelled, "You were…"

The door suddenly opened and in came their homeroom teacher and he called for the students to keep quiet and to Yuji's surprise, Shana did, which potentially saved him.

"What's with the students nowadays?" The teacher looked cross and said grumpily, "I just told Akenabe to wait outside my office and I did not even see a shadow of him! Only his first day of school and he's nowhere to be seen! Bloody hell!"

"U-u-um, sir? May I ask…?" A male student lifted his hand and asked the teacher in a timid voice and the teacher cut across him, "Yes, Ishikawa? Speak like a man!"

"Oh, okay!" Ishikawa continued, "This… Akenabe… Who is he? I've never heard this name before. Is it even a name?"

"The hell do I know? It was in his form and I knew shit about him! Now, any other questions?"

The whole class knew their teacher was in a really bad mood, so nobody dared to provoke him anymore. Instead, nobody made a single sound. An utter silence was heard in the class and their teacher finally opened his mouth.

"Alright, take out your textbooks and study page…"

The door suddenly opened and a student went in and stepped towards the teacher. This guy had blond, spiky hair and was as tall as Yuji. The fringe of his hair was combed downwards to the right, while the back of his hair was combed upwards. He hunched his back slightly, putting both his hands in his pocket. He looked at the teacher with his head tilted upwards, the fringe covering his eyes slightly.

"Sorry, Sensei." He said.

"Hmph! I hope you have a reason well enough!"

"Well, you see… there's this lady I met in-"

"Enough! Shut your traps! I don't wanna hear any bloody excuses from ya, and a very stupid one! LADY! BAH! Go to your seat immediately!"

"Okay, Sensei." The student said with a bow, "But first off, you told me to give you a reason and secondly, my seat isn't assigned."

Everybody in class nearly jumped in shock. The new transfer student clearly had some attitude and was not afraid to retort his teacher.

Yuji could hear the other students, especially the female ones gossiping already.

"Wow! He's so cool!"

"Oh, God! He retorted the teacher!"

"Hey, did you see his hairstyle? It looks great and cool!"

"Hairstyle? I'll look at his eyes!"

"Even his style… The way he walks, the way he talks, the way he stands…"

All eyes were on the new student as he kept his cool and looked at his teacher straight into the eye. The teacher was extremely angered by this, but still surrendered, "The Headmaster will hear about this and meanwhile, pick any empty seat you want! I'm fed up with ill-breeds like you!"

The student surveyed around the class and took and empty seat to the left of Yuji, along row away. The girl on his left seat looked dreamy and overjoyed as she went pink in the face, refusing to look at the new kid on the block.

The student brought out his textbook and notebook and was taking notes while the teacher began his lecture. Yuji looked around the class. He noticed that all the female and a few male students had their eyes glued on the new student, the girls looking dreamy while the guys wore an expression of jealous and anger.

"Pay attention!" The teacher yelled as he noticed that nobody was listening to him, but even after his yell and his seemingly increased voice, he gave up and screamed, "Do what you want! I'm outta here! I'm gonna change a job! F*CK!"

The students were not even distracted when the teacher pushed the door so furiously and stomped out. The new student looked at Yuji and attempted to walk towards him. But before success could go his way, he was surrounded by a bunch of girls who were bombarding him with questions.

Yuji looked at the commotion and sighed, "This guy is a real chic magnet," He thought to himself. All the girls were attracted to him due to his charm and good looks. All the guys must have been feeling extremely jealous. In fact, Yuji is a little jealous himself, all the girls in the class were hooked when he did not have to lift a finger.

Well, nearly all girls, except for one, who was sitting beside him- Shana. Shana looked as if she was in an extremely bad mood, glaring at the new student now and then. Apparently, Shana loathes him, but Yuji does not know why, and asking her when she was in a bad mood would mean walking towards his own grave. Instead, he grabbed a textbook of his from his school bag and pretended to be revising, while thinking what had the new kid done to deserve Shana's cold treatment.

Until Shana suddenly said, "Yuji, your book is held the other way round."

"Huh?" Yuji said, suddenly aware that all the Hiragana in his textbooks was written the other way round. "Oh, err… I… need to go to the… toilet… please excuse me…" And he quickly dashed out of the classroom.

He thought to himself, "Maybe, if Shana decided to follow me, I'd better put in some acting." Thus, he made his way to the toilet. Then, he heard the sound of his classroom door being opened. As expected, Shana came out with him, thus he decided to quicken his pace. He heard footsteps running after him and decided to turn around, for the footsteps sounded heavy, unlike a girl's.

It turned out that the person running after him was the new student, as this shocked Yuji by a lot. Had he shaken off the girls who were surrounding him?

When the guy moved close enough to Yuji he said, "Toilet. Cubicle." And then ran off into the toilet. Yuji walked after him and found him standing inside a cubicle.

"Here, quick." The student said. When Yuji entered the cubicle the student closed the door and latched it.

"Sorry for dragging you here. It's smelly and it's surely not a place for a tête-a-tête, but I don't have a chance, what with the girls pushing me around and bombarding me with 'What's your name?' 'What's your number?' and a lot of crap stuff. I've got no room, so… Sorry." The guy continued apologetically.

"I don't mind, actually, what's the matter?" Yuji said.

"Yeah, bingo! I've found the right guy. Ummm, are you free after school?"

"Uhh-" Yuji gave some serious thought. Since his mother would not be home for the time being, and Wilhelmina not cooking, he could have some free time. Yet, instead of accepting the new student's offer, he asked suspiciously, "Where're we heading?"

"You see, I needed someone to show me around town and I needed someone who does not throw me jealous and angry glances or bombarding me around. I'm new in this place. I don't even have a house on my own; I live in an empty forlorn house somewhere neaby, "

"You have… no home?" Yuji asked out of curiosity.

"Not only this; No memory of my past, no family, no nothing." The guy said, unless Yuji's ear was filled with earwax, he could swear that there was proudness in his voice.

"So, what's your name?" The guy finally asked.

"Yuji Sakai."

"Michiru Akenabe. Michiru's fine."

Yuji nodded, "Yuji'll do for me too."

Michiru, too, nodded and smiled. "Make sure you're available after school, okay?"

Yuji nodded once again and was about to leave the cubicle when Michiru suddenly stopped him.

"Can we… discuss about your friend?" He said slowly.

"Who?"

"Well, the girl sitting beside you."

"Oh, you mean Sha- er… Yukari. Yeah what about her?"

"C'mon wear glasses, man. When I first entered the class I knew there was a pair of unpleasant eyes staring at me which did not come from a guy."

"Hmmm… Maybe she's in a bad mood. I don't really know her much to be frank."

"Yeah, I hope I don't hold a grudge against her, I mean, I've got no memories of my past. Do you think she knows me?"

Yuji shrugs and said, "Maybe you should ask her yourself.

"Wow," Michiru said, "We just met and you start cracking jokes already. C'mon, let's head back, in case someone calls the police and reported us missing. Now I have to deal with the girls." He sighed and then continued, "What's the time now, Yuji?"

Yuji looked at his watch. "Oh no!" He screamed, "We're five minutes late!"

"Five minutes! NO! I gotta make a good impression on my first day here!" Michiru yelled, then rushed out of the cubicle at the speed of light.

Yuji could hear a shout from the corridor outside the toilet, "See you after school!"


	3. Friends

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana, but I DO own Shakugan yes Shana, haha!! ^_^

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Michiru: Guess the highest mountain: , , .

Ryosuke: Everest, duh…

Michiru: Wrong! Answer is because it's the highest mountain in the Milky Way! It's three times higher than . He he, I got you, didn't I?

Ryosuke: Wait a moment… Had the astronomers explored the Milky Way fully?

Michiru: Err… I don't think so…

Ryosuke: Then how can they be sure that there're no mountains higher than in the Milky Way?

Michiru: =_= ……………….

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Chapter 3 – Friends

After a day of long boring lecture, Yuji and Shana made their way home. They had decided to head back and inform Wilhelmina that they were home before going out to buy lunch. However, Yuji had forgotten all about his promise with the new transfer student, Michiru Akenabe. Michiru requested Yuji to show him around town, for he was new here.

When the duo got home, they realized that Wilhelmina was nowhere to be found in the house. Thus, they decided to look around the residence for a sign of her. They called her name loudly searched high and low for her, but not even a shadow of her could be found.

"Man… Where could she be?" Shana grumbled.

"Hmmm…" Yuji said, "Maybe she went out to buy something?"

"No. She promised that she'd be home around this time. For the past few days she was always at home at this time."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning… Yuji, are you an idiot or what? If Wilhelmina was always at home at this hour, she couldn't have gone out on her own!"

"You're saying…. Carmel-san is…"

"Somewhere out there in mortal peril. We'll have to find her as soon as possible."

"Err… Shana, do you think you're over reacting? Maybe, just maybe, Carmel-san's just late. Maybe there's a queue in the mart or something? Why don't we just wait a little while?"

"Yuji, Wilhelmina is in trouble!" Shana yelled in a half-panicked, half-crossed voice.

"Okay, okay!" Yuji sighed, "We'll split and search for her."

Shana nodded and ran towards Yuji's left without saying a word. Yuji wanted to chase after her and ask her where he should search for the Banjou no Shite, before it suddenly hit him that he had made promise with the new student that he would show him around town.

"Shit, what should I do now?" Yuji thought to himself, "I promised him. Hmmm, maybe I'll search for Carmel-san on my way to school. Michiru may still be waiting there; I'll have to go look for him. After all, Carmel-san's bound to be okay, it's Shana that's overreacting."

Yuji sprinted towards the direction of his school, praying that Michiru would still be there and hoping that he would not get angry about it. Fortunately, Michiru was still there. Waiting for half an hour must have bored Michiru, for he was listening to music via his earplugs and tapping his right leg according to the rhythm of the music.

Michiru suddenly noticed that Yuji was there, a confused expression appeared on his face.

"Wait a minute; I thought you went home to change your clothes!" Michiru said while looking at Yuji's uniform.

"Ermmm... Sorry. I kinda forgot about it, you see, Shana and I were looking for Carmel-san. She's lost; we couldn't find her at home."

"Shana? Carmel-san?"

"Err… Shana is Yukari Hirai's nickname, you know, the girl who sits next to me."

"And Carmel-san?"

"An acquaintance of mine."

"She's lost?"

"Maybe so, Shana said Carmel-san's lost, but I think she's just overreacting. I mean, Carmel-san can protect herself."

"Y'know, Yuji, I think we should really search for her. She could really be lost."

"Huh? No! I can't trouble you; it's got nothing to do with you!"

"I insist, Yuji. You can show me around town anytime. So, please tell me the appearance of this Carmel-san."

"What?" Yuji said; how weird would it seem if he told him that Wilhelmina was wearing a maid costume? Michiru may construe it as a joke Yuji had cracked up, and that would mean their friendship would last only for a day.

"This Carmel-san… Her appearance, please tell me." Michiru repeated.

"Err…" Yuji paused for a moment, wishing that he had not blabbered out about Wilhelmina. He knew that he had no choice now but to tell the truth.

"D-Don't laugh, okay? I'm not joking." Yuji said.

"Go on, I know you couldn't be." Michiru replied.

"W-Well, Carmel-san looks like a young Lady, and err…" Yuji paused for a while and thought of a good excuse, "You see, Carmel-san just returned from a cosplay event, so I assume that she'd be in a maid costume or some sort…"

"I see- Whoa, wait a moment, did you just say maid costume?" Michiru asked.

"Err… Yeah," Yuji replied, having a slight feeling that Michiru knew Wilhelmina's location.

"A purple one?"

Yuji nearly jumped in shock.

"So, you do know her?"

Michiru nodded and said, "Come with me."

Yuji followed Michiru immediately and the two guys broke into a run with Michiru at the front as they headed towards their destination. Both of them stopped abruptly in front of a seemingly abandoned house.

"Err…" Yuji said uncertainly, looking at the house.

"I think I may know who Carmel-san is." Michiru explained, "This morning I bumped into her when I was heading to school. She fell on the floor. I wanted to help her, but I realized that I was nearly late, so I decided to run without bothering. And then-"

Michiru's expression suddenly changed a little bit, then he smiled and continued, "And then I felt kinda guilty, so I decided to head back and find her, only to realize that she was coughing blood and lying on the floor."

"Carmel-san was coughing blood?" Yuji asked.

"Yeah, she told me not to bring her to the hospital, so I brought her here and went to the pharmacy and applied some medicine and bandages on her. Which was why I was half an hour late today."

Yuji nodded, and then said, "This place is…"

Michiru said, "Should I call it… my house? I mean… I know it sounded funny and comical, but it's true, I wanted you to believe me."

"You already believed what I said about Carmel-san, so it's my turn to believe you."

"Okay then, I never really had any memories of my past. I mean it almost feels like I only existed a month ago. You got what I mean?"

Yuji nodded but said nothing. Michiru continued, "Then, I found this place, so I stayed here, I hope the cops won't find me, or I'll be in deep trouble. I don't have my Identity Card with me…"

For a few seconds the two guys said nothing, and then Michiru suddenly began, "Shall we… go in? To see if she's your friend or not."

"Sure," Yuji said as they both entered the house. Yuji saw that the walls were cracked and the color seemed to have been worn off. His attention turned to a mattress where a person was lying on it. This person wore a purple maid's costume and had a white tiara on her head.

"Carmel-san," Yuji said as he rushed towards Wilhelmina. He gave her a slight shake and called her name again. Still, there was no reply from Wilhelmina as she lay there like a puppet.

"Don't worry, she's alive," Michiru said from behind, walking towards Yuji and Wilhelmina, "But… don't you think it's kinda strange? She was begging me not to bring her to the hospital."

Yuji said nothing at this, but he knew that the doctors there would find out Wilhelmina was not a human if Michiru did send her to the hospital.

"I need to go find Shana. I'll come back later." Yuji said.

Michiru nodded and replied, "Of course, I'll stay here and look after her."

Yuji quickly rushed towards the door as Michiru walked slowly towards Wilhelmina. He sat on the floor beside the mattress as he looked at her, admiring her beauty when she suddenly moved.

Wilhelmina began by moving her head, and then she opened her eyes to see an unknown person looking at her.

"You're awake," Michiru said.

Wilhelmina did not reply to this. Instead, she racked her brains, trying to recall what had happened. After a few seconds, she said slowly, softly and weakly, "It was you?"

Michiru nodded, "And I did as you said, I didn't bring you to the hospital. But why?"

Wilhelmina said nothing at this, she closed her eyes instead. She felt a little angry and humiliated; Kojiro only used a punch on her and now she was utterly paralyzed. Kojiro even brought out the events which she got defeated and humiliated by the Bal Masque.

Meanwhile, Michiru decided not to pry on the matter. "Get some rest, Yuji went for Shana, they'd be here soon," He said.

Shana… Wilhelmina thought. There was so much she wanted to tell her, mostly about the four mysterious unknown Mystes who had a mission here in Misaki City.

Michiru then began, "What happened back then?"

Of course, Wilhelmina could not possibly tell him about Mysteses and Flame Hazes, so she said, "I'll tell you some other time; I need rest."

"Okay, then, I won't bother you." Michiru said although his mind was filled with question marks. He could not help having the feeling that Wilhelmina was trying to conceal something.

A long time had passed in awkward silence, with Wilhelmina asleep and Michiru listening to his headphones. Then Michiru heard a girl's voice screaming "Wilhelmina!"

Michiru turned around to see his classmate running towards the maid costumed figure and shook her and shouting her name. He then said to Yuji, "Wilhelmina…"

"Carmel-san's first name." Yuji replied.

"Hmmm… Wilhelmina Carmel. Peculiar and interesting, was she born overseas?" Michiru asked.

"I don't really know her," Yuji said.

"Wilhelmina," Shana said, almost in tears. Only then the two guys realized that Wilhelmina was awake.

"Wilhelmina," Shana said again as Wilhelmina stroked her hair.

Yuji and Michiru walked towards the two girls as Shana asked, "What happened?"

Wilhelmina was about to answer Shana question when she suddenly eyed at Michiru. Shana realized that Michiru was not supposed to know about this. Yuji realized this too, for he said, "Ermmm… Shana, maybe we should bring Carmel-san home, we're troubling Michiru."

Shana nodded as Yuji turned towards Michiru and said, "I'm sorry for today. I'll show you around town tomorrow."

"Thanks, man." Michiru replied. "You're a nice person."

"Wilhelmina, can you walk?" Shana asked Wilhelmina uncertainly.

Wilhelmina attempted to stand up, but felt her knees weaken and fell to the ground.

"I can't put energy into my knees," She finally conceded.

"I'll heave you, then." Shana said and Wilhelmina put her arms around Shana's bag. Then, in a swift second, Shana rushed out of the house with Wilhelmina on her back.

"Sh-Shana, wait up!" Yuji yelled. Then, Michiru put his elbow on his shoulder.

"Y'know, your girl's really strong, huh? I wouldn't be able to run so fast even if I had no one behind my back."

"Yeah, you're ri- NO! She's not my girl! We're friends! We're merely friends, okay?"

"Ooooh, friends, huh? From the conversation I just heard, you three live together?"

"I actually live with my Mum, but now she's overseas, so Shana came to stay while Carmel-san helped to clean the house."

"No wonder she wears the maid costume."

"Well…"

"I'll see ya tomorrow, then."

"Yeah."

Yuji was about to leave the house when he suddenly stopped.

"You forgot something?" Michiru asked curiously.

"I was thinking, since you don't have a home and my mum's not at my house, you can come stay with us temporarily."

"No, no, no, I can't trouble you. Don't worry; I can live on my own, dude."

"If it weren't for you, we'll never know where Carmel-san would be, or what sort of trouble she'd be in, just treat it as a favor I'm returning."

"Still, your girl- I mean… Shana. She doesn't like me, you forgot that?"

"Hmmm… the family name of the owner of my house is Sakai, not Hirai. And by the way, I'm sure Shana would understand. I think she's also grateful that you found her."

"Yuji… Thanks…"

"No worries, what are friends for?"

"Friends, not classmates or acquaintances anymore, huh?"

"Yeah, friends."

* * *

Michiru: So there's the cliffhanger!

Ryosuke: Hmmm… friends, huh?

Michiru: Yeah, just like us.

Ryosuke: So why did you put me as the antagonist?

Michiru: Err…..

Ryosuke: I thought we were friends!

Michiru: I'll let you pwn Shana, okay?

Ryosuke: Now you're talking!

Michiru: Well, what are friends for?


	4. Ryona Time!

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana, but I DO own Shakugan yes Shana, haha!! ^_^

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Michiru: Hey, Ryo! Wassup?

Ryosuke: Yo, Michiru, wasdown?

Michiru: The floor.

Ryosuke: The sky.

Michiru and Ryosuke: =.=

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Chapter 4: Ryona Time!

Shana, with Wilhelmina on her back, arrived at Sakai Residence. She opened the house door and quickly ran up to the room, completely forgetting to close the door. Then, she put Wilhelmina gently on the bed and spoke, "Wilhelmina…"

"I'm fine," Wilhelmina replied, "You sound like I'm dying."

"What happened, Wilhelmina? Why were you hurt until like this?" Shana asked.

"There's this Mystes. He claims his name is Kojiro Takasu or the Tsunade no Tatsujin. He was the one who attacked me,"

"What? How dare him!"

"He did. And he's powerful. He's ability is to turn his hand into pure steel, causing high damage. Worse still, he seemed to have three more comrades. I'm worried that the four of them may be more of a trouble than the Bal Masque."

"They may not be pushovers; do you know the names of the other members?"

"Yeah, there's one whose name is Zeus and I think he possesses the power of the lightning element. Then there's the other two. They are Ryosuke and Kuvestar, but I'm not sure who they are or what their powers are."

"I see. So did this Kojiro say anything?"

"Something about coming here to find a Mystes, I guess. I don't have the full detail, but from what I can tell, they have really big business on this Mystes."

"Which means, we have to find this Mystes before them, right?"

"Precisely, but there's a word which Kojiro said sounded funny. 'How are we supposed to find a Mystes which can never be found?' There's something really, really strange about the word 'never be found'."

"'Never be found'…"

"I'm not sure what it means, but it may give us a clue in locating this Mystes,"

"They didn't say the name of the Mystes, didn't they?"

"The word I said just now is the only clue that they left us,"

"Could it be… they're playing false clues with us? They want us to give up in finding the Mystes they're trying to find."

"It could be, but we can't dismiss the possibilities that they're true, too."

As both Shana and Wilhelmina racked their brains thinking about clues as to whether they have encountered a "Mystes that may never be found", Shana suddenly asked, "Wilhelmina, Kojiro didn't hurt you that badly, didn't he?"

"No, he only gave me a belly punch,"

"Just one?"

Wilhelmina nodded.

"J-J-J-Just one hit and you're defeated?!?!?"

"GRRRHHH!" Wilhelmina clenched her teeth and clutched her fists in anger and Shana wished she had shut her mouth. Just then they heard the sliding of the door.

"I'm back!" Yuji's voice came from the front door.

"Yuji!" Shana said, then she went outside to greet Yuji home, when she saw an unpleasant scene.

"Oh, hi, Shana," Yuji said after making eye contact with Shana.

"Why is he here?" Shana asked grumpily. Yuji looked at Michiru uncertainly, then began, "Um, well, you see,you saw it yourself that he didn't have a home, so I brought him here,"

"Humph!"

"W-Well, he'll be gone by the time Mom gets back, anyway, and Mom's not going for that long! Then again, if he hadn't found Carmel-san…"

"HUMPH!!!!"

Both Michiru and Yuji looked on stupidly as Shana stormed back into the room which Wilhelmina was in. It was another five seconds when Yuji began, "Shall I… bring you to your room? There're three rooms here. One's for mom, which Carmel-san and Shana are sleeping currently. Then the one here's mine, so yours would be…"

"Huh?" Michiru suddenly said.

"What?"

"You don't sleep in the same room with Shana?"

"W-What??!!"

"Nah, just kidding, haha!"

"Not funny, okay? There's nothing going on between Shana and me!"

"Sure, sure. You have some issues. And by the way, thanks."

"No prob, you helped us find Camel-san."

"Y'know, Yuji, why don't I sleep in your room? Your bed's a double sized one, right? We can sleep together. I'm afraid of sleeping alone."

If Yuji was drinking water he would have choked, but now, even without water, he was gagged and couldn't find any words momentarily.

"U-Um, Yuji, are you… okay?"

"H-H-uh?"

"Man… you can't take a joke, can't you?"

"It's not funny, you know!"

"Yeah, sure, I'm sorry, guess I'd better keep my mouth shut, huh? In case you're having second thoughts about bringing me here,"

"Well… I know it's not much here, but… how do I put this? Make yourself at home?"

"Haha, sure. Thanks, Yuji."

Michiru then opened the door and disappeared into his room. Yuji wondered what to do next. He then decided on entering the room which Shana and Wilhelmina are in. When he opened the door, he saw Shana's angry face staring at him.

"U-U-Um, Sha-Shana…" Yuji began.

"Why did you bring him here?" Shana nearly screamed.

"I just told you; he saved Carmel-san. AND he didn't have a home."

"Humph!"

"Why do you despise him so much? He didn't do anything to you!"

"Humph!"

"Shana, please give me a reason,"

"I don't know."

Yuji did not know what to say at this.

"Err… you don't know?"

Wilhelmina suddenly opened her mouth, and that was the time when Yuji actually realized that Wilhelmina was in the room.

"Shana, I don't mind him being here. He did save me, actually. Or else you wouldn't have found me."

"What?" Shana nearly jumped in shock, "You too, Wilhelmina?"

Wilhelmina nodded as Yuji said with a grin on his face, "It's two to one, Shana."

"Fine! Whatever! I'm leaving! There's no way I'll be under the same roof with him!" Shana yelled.

"Wh-Whoa, wait, Shana! You're overreacting!" Yuji stammered.

"I'm not!"

"Oh, good, you're not leaving,"

"I mean I'm not overreacting, you idiot!"

"You clearly are, Shana…"

"HUMPH!" Shana gave a last yell before she stormed out of the house, leaving Yuji standing there foolishly. He wanted to say something and make Shana stay, but since Shana hates Michiru so much, Michiru would have to go, right after Yuji invited him. Furthermore, Yuji was filled with feelings of sympathize. Afterall, Michiru had neither home nor family.

"Carmel-san," Yuji suddenly began, "Why do you think that Shana hates Michiru this much?"

Wilhelmina did not answer the question and she almost seemed very rude for not answering a question. Then, Michiru became her savior once again and entered the room.

"Huh? Yuji, what happened? How come Shana-san was acting so moody when she went out of the house? Did you say something and made her angry?"

"Ummm… well, forget about her, she'll be fine outside, she can protect herself." Yuji answered sheepishly.

"What kind of boyfriend are you anyway?" Michiru thought to himself, knowing that he must not say this out.

* * *

A few hours havepassed since Shana threw her tantrum. She was still walking in the streets of Misaki City and she was still furious.

"Stupid Yuji! Stupid! Stupid! STUUUUPIIIIIDDD!!!!"

She screamed, not aware that her voice was heard by a figure behind her. If she did not have stupid thoughts to sort out in her mind, she would have noticed it for certain. The figure walked towards Shana, closer and closer, until Shana finally noticed a strange aura and spun around. Then her eyes fixed on the hooded figure who, although had his grey hood up, was staring at her.

"Who are you?" Shana asked loudly, preparing to brandish her sword.

"Nobody," The figure answered.

Shana felt angry instantly. The person thought it was very funny to joke, but she was already in an extremely bad mood. She then activated the Fuzetsu, ready to relish her anger on the person. Next, Shana brandished her sword, and her hair and eyes turned crimson red. She struck a pose, like every time she did when engaging combat. Yet, the person did not act, which caught her by surprise.

"Why?"

"I don't have to,"

"What?"

"Are you deaf? I said I don't have to."

"Why, you……!!!!"

"Your element. It is weak to mine. In that case, you cannot defeat me, no matter how hard you try,"

"So be it!"

Shana lunged her attack at the figure, but she felt something push her back as she struck, like an invisible force field.

"What the?"

"Like I said, don't try."

"Feh!"

Shana embedded her Nietono no Shana with fire, then fired it at the person, only for a gush of wind to put it out as if it were only a small flame.

"No way!"

"Don't you get it? My element is strong against yours. Water may be stronger than fire in Pokémon, but in Persona 3, wind beats fire."

The person said all these as if trying to advertise the games, or to console Shana to buy and play the games. Still, Yuji did not have a Play Station 2 or a computer to play the games. (Ryosuke: =.=)

Shana suddenly became maddened by the person's actions. By putting out a strong flame without moving at all, the person was virtually humiliating her.

"Why don't you show me that face of yours and tell me who you are?"

"Sure, falling for my charm?"

"My ass,"

"Y'know, girls shouldn't speak vulgar words. They downgrade their own standards."

"Like I care! Now show me who you are!"

Suddenly, strong wind began to blow. The hood of the person fell off due to the strong wind, revealing a person with long, orange, spiky, mid parting hair.

"Ryosuke Tachibana," He said proudly, "Rider of the Wind."

"Ryosuke…" Shana muttered to herself.

"The Mystes whom the Banjou no Shite just mentioned," Alastor replied.

"I see," Shana said, "You are looking for a Mystes."

"Yes. Would you help me find it?"

"I will find it, but not for you. Over my dead body,"

"Oh, you really are a little too boyish for a girl, all the vulgar words and stuff,"

"And why do you care?"

"Hmmm…. If you're boyish, it's pointless for Ryona Time."

"Ryona Time?"

"Hehehe. Glad you asked."

Ryosuke's eyes suddenly turned sinister and two weapons appeared on his both hands out of the blue. His left hand holds a short standard kitchen knife, which he took it and tossed it up and down. His right hand, on the other hand, was holding an extremely long and curved sword. He leaned it on his right chest. Then another gush of wind passed by, making his hair move, signaling confidence in a fight.

"Not good…" Shana muttered.

"Look out!" Alastor suddenly yelled.

"Wha…!!!"

A tornado suddenly appeared behind Shana. Before she could react, the tornado sucked her into it as if she was a pin, and it was a magnet. Then, when the tornado swallowed her, it began to spin her around, causing her dizziness and pain. Shana screamed and screamed but nobody was there to hear her. No Yuji to give her support. No Wilhelmina to fight alongside her. Shana was doomed. She could also hear Ryosuke laughing madly as she shouted louder and louder.

"STOP! STOOOOOOOOOOOOPPPP!!!!" Shana screamed and nearly tore her vocal chord.

"Huh? Increase the speed? No problemo!" Ryosuke countered with a chuckle.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" Shana continued to scream and scream as the tornado got faster and faster and faster. Ryosuke's laughs also got louder as he spoke: "Hmmm... Not bad.... For a boyish girl.... You have a nice screaming sound.... I'll be sure to let you scream more!"

"NOOOOOO!!!!!!"

After what seemed like ten minutes of a free ride in the roller coaster, Shana fell to the floor with a "thud" and vomited due to the dizziness. She then tried to stand up, but fell to the ground again and closed her eyes, hoping that doing so would stop the dizziness. Unfortunately, the dizziness continued, and Shana became too weak to move even a muscle. Just then she heard footsteps coming towards her.

"That's what I call Ryona Time!" Ryosuke said and laughed.

"Ugghhh…" Shana whimpered, unable to stand the dizziness.

"What's the matter? Can't stand it? Good!"

Ryosuke began to chuckle madly. Then he continued, "I have a helluva good time and a helluva Ryona Time! Y'know, we should do this as soon as possible!"

Shana, on the verge of fainting, did not answer.

"Hmmm… the maid…" Ryosuke suddenly said.

Shana gasped. Obviously, Ryosuke was talking about Wilhelmina.

"The maid…" He repeated, "She has nice breasts and curves. AND she sounded and looked hot when Kojiro belly punched her. Hmm… Maybe she'll be next. NEXT IN LINE FOR A RYONA TIME! Hehe, kinda rhymes!"

"Wilhelmina…" Shana whimpered, worried about what Ryosuke would do to her. The new previously unknown Mystes were proving to be more of a problem than the Bal Masque, and seemingly more tougher than all the members of Bal Masque put together.

"Well, that is then, so long, sucka! Haha!" Ryosuke gave a last cackle before leaping into the air and deactivating the Fuzetsu, leaving Shana fainted on the floor.

--------------

Ryosuke: Yeah! Helluva Ryona Time!

Michiru: Well, glad ya like it! I did promise you!

Ryosuke: Yeah, I'm glad. Maybe being the antagonist ain't so bad after all!

Michiru: In Chapter 1 you were complaining so much like fuck, Ryo….

Ryosuke: ^_^ Whateva.

Michiru: =.= Sohai…


	5. Golden

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana, but I DO own Shakugan yes Shana, haha!! ^_^

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Michiru: Thanks to hignum for reviewing! ^_^

Ryosuke: Hey, what about me!!!???

Michiru: You? For what?

Ryosuke: Thank me for writing it with you.

Michiru: =.= Oh well… thanks to Ryo too.

Ryosuke: ^_^ And thanks to Michiru for a helluva Ryona Time!

Michiru: Man, you don't shut up about that, don't you?

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Chapter 5 - Golden

Ryosuke, Kojiro and Zeus stood facing towards a man whose back was facing him. This man sat on a chair which what seemed like a throne, but can be spun like roller chairs.

"How's it going?" The man on the throne said coldly.

"Not so good," Zeus said, "Not when half of our members are giving us away."

"What the fuck?" Ryosuke and Kojiro said at the same time.

"SILENCE!" The man on the throne yelled, "I am not going to waste my saliva or energy scolding you!"

Kojiro rolled his eyes. The man continued, "This Mystes may have the power to conceal its flame, but it has not fully awakened to its power."

"Power?" Zeus said, a little shocked, for the man on the throne never told them much detail of the Mystes they were about to find.

"Yes. You see, I have found some useful information that says that Golden is in the body of a Torch whom does not know anything,"

Zeus nodded, but said nothing. Then, the man on the throne continued, "Since the boy does not know anything, he may not know how to control his powers. Golden, is a flame, which, as its name tells, is golden in color."

Kojiro tried to stifle a laugh as the man said that. As to not make the man angry and also to pretend that he had never laughed, Kojiro decided to say something and distract them. "Yeah, its powers… Every Mystes would dream about having it."

"Yes," The man said, "Not the power to conceal its flame, making even Flame Hazes unable to know the presence of it, but the power of-"

"Everlasting," Zeus finished the sentence as if he were retorting him. "Golden's real name is actually The Flame of Everlasting, but due to its color, it's named Golden as an abbreviation."

"Yes, a flame which makes one immortal. Even us Mystes has a time limit to live, although a lot longer than the normal Torches. After all, Mystes are Torches. The flame of Golden cannot be put out. It lasts forever. That's why it's called The Flame of…"

"Everlasting," Zeus finished for him again as Kojiro and Ryosuke rolled their respective eyes.

"That's why we're gonna getting the flame. To become immortal and rule the universe. Still, why did Golden enter a body of someone who knows nothing about everything?"

The three of them could not find an answer to this question and they kept quiet, until Ryosuke suddenly cut in, "This new kid may not have full control of the power, right? Although Golden may be a flame hidden from any beings, the kid may accidentally reveal a little bit of that flame! After all, he knows nothing about these!"

Zeus suddenly said, "Problem is, we don't know who or where Golden is."

"Oh, is that so? I have some information here and it states that his current location is in Misaki City." The man on the throne said proudly.

"How did you get all those information?" Kojiro asked, only for the man to retort coldly, "I do not slack. Not like you two."

"Ummm…. Well…." Ryosuke said sheepishly, "then we're closer to finding it, now that we know where it is."

"So, find it!"

The three of them said, "Yes," before exiting the room.

------------

"Unnhhhh…" Shana gave a small whimper as she opened her eyes a little, but barely opened. Ryosuke did give her a hard time, what with the spinning and everything, and now, even after a lot of rest, she still felt dizzy and pain in her head.

"Shana, you're awake!" Yuji's voice, which filled with gratefulness and worry, came in front of her, but she could not see where Yuji was.

"I was so worried!" Yuji continued, "If Carmel-san had not found you, I wouldn't know what to do!"

Shana snorted through the dizziness, but Yuji cut across her, suddenly and unexpectedly with a loud voice which made him sound as if he was screaming, "You don't know how I feel! Why do you have to walk out on your own? I was worried sick when you had not come back by midnight! Since we found you yesterday I looked at you and never slept at all!"

Shana gasped, due to Yuji's sudden change of attitude. She felt a little touched by what Yuji had said, but tried to conceal it so that Yuji may not see the weak side inside her.

"Shana… why?"

"Yuji…"

Yuji sighed, and then got off the bed which Shana was laying and he was sitting. It was only then when Shana suddenly felt cold inside her heart. She felt as if Yuji was going to leave her forever, and she dreaded that.

"Yuji…" She whimpered, "I'm sorry…"

"I hope you really are. It's three in the morning, and I have not slept for twenty four hours so I'm gonna catch forty winks." Yuji said coldly.

Then, Yuji left the room, leaving Shana, who was trying to fight the tears leaking out of her eyes threateningly. Then, after a few minutes, the door opened again, but it was not Yuji who entered this time, but Michiru.

Michiru walked towards the bed which Shana was laying. Then, he sat on the bed beside her. Shana, praying that the tears were not noticeable, spoke coldly: "Go away!"

"Why do you hate me this much?"

Shana did not answer, but looked away.

"Because of me, you got hurt. Yuji, he was so worried when you haven't got home by midnight. He asked Wilhelmina-san to look for you with him, and they found you. He hasn't slept, but looked at you without blinking like a zombie."

"You're lying!"

"It's true."

"No!"

"Please believe me, Shana-chan. Yuji is really worried, so do I. If something happened to you, I wouldn't feel good either,"

"You really shouldn't,"

"You're right. I started everything. Now I should atone for it. I'm leaving. For you,"

Shana suddenly gasped. What is wrong with this guy?

Michiru walked towards the door and slid the door. He was about to leave the room or even the house when Shana suddenly said, "Stop."

Michiru turned around and said, "Then tell me. Why do you hate me so much?"

Shana looked at Michiru, and then decided on telling him the truth.

"I…"

Michiru grabbed a chair from the room and put it beside Shana's bed. Then, he sat on it.

"I sense something…"

"What?"

"I sense something about you."

"Hmmm? What about me?"

"Dunno, just something… different."

"I'm different,"

"Not only so… there's just something that I could not explain, like every time I see you, have I felt something bad is going to happen."

"Something bad is going to happen…. To who?"

"All of us…"

Michiru got up from the chair and gave a small sigh of relief.

"Y'know, I thought it was something more serious than that. I'm relieved. Thanks for telling me."

Shana suddenly got up and gasped, which startled Michiru so much that he jumped.

"What?" He nearly shouted as he said that.

Although he said the word loudly, Shana acted as if she had not heard Michiru. She continued to stare at Michiru's body with her mouth opened wide, as if she had seen a ghost.

"Shana-chan?" Michiru said.

After the words came out of Michiru's mouth, Shana seemed to have calmed down a bit. Then, Michiru decided to pursue on the matter.

"Shana-chan, are you okay?"

Shana looked at Michiru, and then she nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said.

"What got you so shocked?"

Shana wanted to answer truthfully, but decided not to. After all, Michiru knew nothing about what she, Wilhelmina and Yuji knew. However, there was something which puzzled her. She swore that she saw a flash of golden light appearing in Michiru's body. And at that instant, Shana felt a presence of something really strong and powerful. Although it lasted only for less than a second she knew that there was no mistake.

A golden Flame appeared in Michiru.

Yet, Shana could not tell him. Not when she was not one hundred percent sure about it. Maybe it could be a mere hallucination. After all, she was still feeling dizzy. Of course, she thought, she must tell Wilhelmina about it as soon as possible.

Speak of the devil; Wilhelmina entered the room without knocking the door. Then, she came inside.

"Did you feel…?" Wilhelmina said carelessly.

"Shhhh!!!!" Shana whispered.

Wilhelmina then turned to Michiru and gave a small "Oh," Then Shana said, "Michiru-kun, can you please excuse us?"

Michiru, a little shocked from the weird actions of both the ladies, nodded and exited the room.

When both Wilhelmina and Shana were confirmed that Michiru was nowhere in sight, Wilhelmina began the conversation.

"Did you feel it?"

"Huh? You did too?"

Wilhelmina nodded and continued, "I sense something powerful. So I thought it would be best to inform you,"

"I was about to find you, too" Shana said, "I thought it was my imagination at first, because it happened so quickly, but now that you felt it too, I'm relieved."

"I felt that it came from this room,"

"Michiru-kun,"

"What?"

"I saw a flame. A golden one. It was inside him,"

"What?" Wilhelmina looked a little shocked when Shana said that.

"Huh?" Shana was shocked too as Wilhelmina acted a little strange.

"Golden Flame? Did you just say…"

"Yeah, what's the matter?"

"It can't be…"

"Wilhelmina?"

Wilhelmina looked at Shana, then she said, "You're sure that the flame is golden in color?"

"I'm positive," Shana replied, "What's wrong about it?"

Wilhelmina looked at the floor, her eyes suddenly shot wide. She could have smacked herself in the face as she did not think about it, when it was so obvious. She just assumed that it did not exist, which was why she did not even think about it when the answer was already given to her.

"Wilhelmina?"

"Golden,"

"What's that?"

"I've never told you before, didn't I?"

"No, you didn't. Now, please tell me what it is,"

"There is a legend about a Mystes whose Flame is everlasting, unable to be put out. This Mystes is called The Flame of Everlasting, or, due to the color of its flame, Golden."

"Wilhelmina, why didn't you tell me about it before?"

"It was only a myth, there wasn't any concrete evidence that such Mystes actually existed. And there wasn't any purpose in telling you myths,"

"Okay, please continue,"

"It is said that this Mystes possesses not only the power of an everlasting Flame. Its powers are said to be stronger than any other being existed. Besides, it also has the ability to conceal its flame, causing it unable to be detected by all beings, even us Flame Hazes,"

"Which explains why I saw that Flame only in a split second. It's all clear now. Obviously they were looking for Golden, which, in this case, could be Michiru-kun,"

"Yes, I regret for not realizing this sooner. It was way too obvious now that I thought about it,"

"Don't worry, Wilhelmina, we'll have to keep an eye on Michiru-kun for now, but let's not tell him anything at the meantime,"

"Besides, we're not a hundred percent sure whether if he is the real Golden or not. Mystes come in many types. There was one with a silver Flame too, so Michiru's may be another Flame which is also golden in color,"

"But if he really is Golden, we have to be really careful. Kojiro and the gang would hunt him down at all costs. They seem pretty serious about getting whatever they want,"

"Hmmm… if it's Golden's flame they're searching for, then what they'd be looking for is immortality and power,"

"And if they do, the world is in trouble,"

"We need to stop them, no matter what,"

"Wilhelmina…" Shana sounded a little worried, "If Michiru-kun really is Golden, then… what if… we would… have to… destroy him?"

"What?"

"You know, they're strong, and we can't be protecting Michiru-kun forever. If… worse comes to worst, we'll have to kill him. There's no choice,"

Wilhelmina grabbed her spiky ribbons as she said angrily, "I will stop you if you do,"

"Humph! So now you know how I feel when you wanted to kill Yuji!" Shana thought to herself, feeling a little happy that Wilhelmina did have a soft spot against guys, although feeling a little weird. Wilhelmina seemed to be a little fond of Michiru. She wanted Michiru to stay, and she defended Michiru instead of her when she was scolding Michiru.

Maybe…. Just maybe… although impossible… but maybe…

Wilhelmina likes Michiru?


	6. The Awakening

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana, but I DO own Shakugan yes Shana, haha! ^_^

Michiru: What is Wilhelmina Carmel's favorite animal?

Ryosuke: What?

Michiru: A camel!

Chapter 6 – The Awakening

"Tit tit... tit tit…"

(Ryosuke: O_O)

(Michiru: It's the alarm, perv!)

Yuji Sakai woke with a start due to the sudden ringing of the alarm clock. He sat up and turned off the alarm. He looked outside the window. It was still dark outside. He was about to get up and change into his uniform until curiosity hit him. He decided to look at the time shown on his clock, unable to believe that the time now is the time for him to wake up.

The digital clock shows three numbers. THREE THREES.

Suddenly, Yuji wished he had not looked at the clock at all. It made him a little uncomfortable after looking at the numbers. Then, he decided to slap himself mentally and convinced himself that the alarm clock went haywire. He covered himself under his blankets and went to sleep again.

Unfortunately, he could not sleep at all. Looking at the "3:33" written on the digital clock was not a good sign at all. A knock on the door which came out of the blue scared the wits out of Yuji and he jumped in fright.

"WHO'S THERE?"

"It's me," answered a familiar voice.

"Oh," Yuji felt relieved, and then got up to open the door.

Michiru was standing outside his room. He brought out a clock and showed it to Yuji.

"Look at the time now,"

Yuji looked at the hands of the clock.

"Three… err… thirty-…three,"

"Anything else you noticed?"

"Nope, nothing… Wait a minute!"

Yuji suddenly realized that the second hand was not moving at all.

"What in the world?" He said.

"Yeah, very strange, right?" Michiru replied.

"We should inform Shana and Carmel-san immediately,"

Michiru nodded. He opened the door and went outside. Yuji followed suit downstairs. The two guys headed towards the room which Wilhelmina and Shana were sleeping. When Michiru's hand reached the doorknob, the door opened from the other side, startling the guys.

"Yuji…" Shana began as she came out of the room, "The time…"

"Yes, I know, Shana," Yuji cut across her.

"What's happening here?" Michiru asked worryingly.

"No idea, The Fuzetsu was not even set up and time has stopped already," Shana replied.

Wilhelmina then appeared behind Shana, a serious look upon her face, "It must have something to do with them,"

"Who?" Yuji asked stupidly, then he realized, "Oh yeah! The four Mystes Carmel-san was talking about!"

"So… what should we do?" Michiru asked again.

"I'll go investigate," Wilhelmina said bravely.

"I'll come with you, Wilhelmina!" Shana piped.

"No. You stay here. Your wounds have not fully healed,"

"But I'm fine now!"

"Shana, please. I do not want anything to happen to you. I'll be fine out there. You three stay here and wait for me,"

"No," Michiru said suddenly in a fierce tone that shocked everybody.

"It's dangerous for you too. You can't go alone. Something'll happen to you too," He added.

"So what now?" Yuji yelled, "We're wasting time here arguing!"

Wilhelmina looked at Michiru and said, "You come with me,"

"Huh?" Michiru was taken aback, "Me?"

Wilhelmina then quickly turned towards Shana and Yuji, "You two stay here in case something happens,"

Then, as quick as a cat, Wilhelmina wrapped her ribbons around Michiru's stomach and leaped out of the house before anyone could react.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, wait, wait… AAAHHHH!" Michiru screamed before he disappeared outside the house.

Shana grunted and grumbled, "I don't see why she let him go with her but not me,"

"Shana," Yuji said, "Your wounds have not healed yet. You'd get hurt easily if a battle occurs,"

"Humph!" Shana grunted.

Meanwhile, Wilhelmina was running on top of a few roofs of skyscrapers. The whole street was as quiet as a mouse. Nobody was seen in any place at all.

"Whoa! Whoa!" Michiru yelled, "You don't have to do this! Whoa!"

Yet, Wilhelmina ignored Michiru's shouts and wails as she continued to run and leap. Michiru suddenly realized one thing and he said it out almost immediately.

"Where are we heading?"

Wilhelmina stopped in her tracks and pointed towards a bolt of lightning coming from the sky.

"Zeus," she whispered softly, knowing who was responsible for what was happening right now. She was about to leap off to another roof, closer to the bolts of lightning before Michiru said worryingly, "Be careful,"

Wilhelmina nodded and Tiamat suddenly asked, "Why bring him?"

Wilhelmina focused on the lightning instead. She did not know why did she bring him here, but something told her to do so and she did not know why. Somehow, she felt more secure with him around. The feeling was really weird to put it.

After staring at the bolts of lightning for a few seconds, Wilhelmina thought to herself that she must be very careful this time. She must not allow herself to be defeated anymore, or else she would ruin everybody's hopes and let them down. Zeus may be as powerful as the other members or even more powerful than them. She must not let her guard down this time. She had to win.

Seeing Wilhelmina stopping in her tracks, Michiru asked, "Err… shouldn't you… go now?"

Wilhelmina said nothing, but merely activated her masked form and leaped towards the skyscraper that Zeus was standing at. She heard Michiru asking her to be careful again and her determination got higher and higher as she got closer and closer to Zeus. Finally, she arrived there and saw a man standing opposite her.

"As expected…" Zeus said softly.

"How did you do it?" Wilhelmina asked angrily.

"Oh? Stop the time? Well, you see, Kuvestar just had a new ability to stop time and space without activating the Fuzetsu. Which means, time should be stopped now for all living things, except us,"

Wilhelmina said nothing at this. She focused on her enemy in case he makes a quick attack. She knew that all the talking was to distract her and let her guard down, and she was not foolish enough to be fooled by it. However, as much as she wanted to focus on the battle, she was distracted by the word "Kuvestar", which was not a word at all.

"Kuvestar…" She whispered.

"The fourth Mystes," Tiamat replied in a monotone.

Yet, Zeus continued to talk, showing no signs of wanting to attack.

"I see no Flame, yet he's moving,"

Wilhelmina gasped. Apparently, Zeus was talking about Michiru.

"He has to be Golden, there is no doubt,"

Zeus walked towards Wilhelmina and said, "Thanks for bringing him here, now give him to me,"

The grip on Wilhelmina's ribbons loosens and Michiru removed it from his body. "Please don't do that again," he said.

"Stand back," Wilhelmina whispered, getting ready for battle.

Michiru ran to the back as Zeus said, "I don't wanna fight girls… Really…"

Wilhelmina said nothing at this and suddenly launched a couple of ribbon missiles and her enemy. Zeus dodged them all with ease and said, "You... really want to fight?"

Wilhelmina's ribbons flew towards Zeus and wrapped his arms, legs and body, giving him a full body bind. Yet, Zeus smiled at said in a serious tone, "Now you've done it!"

Zeus's body was suddenly covered with lighting. The lightning conducted through the ribbons and as Wilhelmina was grabbing it, she received a taste of electricity shock throughout her whole body.

"!" Wilhelmina screamed in pain as the electricity shocked her. She released her ribbons, thinking that by doing so would stop the pain, but the lightning seemed to have run into the insides of her body and nothing could stop it. She screamed and screamed until she hit the floor, no longer moving.

"Wilhelmina!" Michiru yelled and he walked towards the Banjou no Shite. He held her head up and put it on his lap. Wilhelmina's eyes were closed. Her whole body was filled with grey dirt, especially her face. Michiru touched her cheek and whispered her name, but received no response. He shook her again and again, hoping and praying that she would wake up, but, alas, she did not. He shouted her name in panic but her eyes were still shut tight.

Zeus walked towards them and said to Michiru, "I'm sorry, but she attacked first. This is self defense. I don't like attacking girls either. Now, come with me, I'll take you to meet Kuvestar and I'll eliminate your flame. It'll be painless, and you'll forget about everything, all your sorrows and pain,"

"Why must you kill her?" Michiru yelled.

"Like I said, it's self defense. I really didn't mean to kill her. I just wanted to paralyze her so that I can get you without her in the way. Yet, she was too weak. My powers are a lot stronger than I had expected. You have my condolence, but now it's time to go. Come," Zeus said and held out his hand towards Michiru. "There's nothing you can do; she's dead."

"She's…. dead?"

"Yes,"

"You… killed her…"

"Certainly,"

Michiru looked up at Zeus and grinned. Suddenly, a golden light began to surround him. It got stronger and stronger as second after second passed. His whole body suddenly glowed, golden in color. Finally, a golden colored Flame began to appear on his chest slowly. Then, he asked Zeus in a voice that was unlike his, "Can you see it?"

Zeus answered in a way that sounded like yes. "Golden," he replied.

Michiru chuckled. A sword appeared out of his hand suddenly, emitting a golden light during the process. When the sword appeared, it continued to glow brightly, golden in color. Michiru continued to look at Zeus. He pointed his sword at Zeus, its glowing light shining brighter and brighter as the two guys continued to stare at each other.

"I hope you're ready," Michiru mocked.

"This would be interesting," Zeus retorted. "I would want to see Golden's powers used by a guy who knows nothing,"

"Nothing, you say?"

Zeus leaped behind so that Michiru was out of range to attack him. He fired two bolts of lightning at Michiru, but Michiru held his sword at the bolts. For a moment, Zeus thought he was about to block the attack, but he was wrong. The bolts of lightning were absorbed by the sword, which became brighter instantly – Michiru did not block the attack, he absorbed it.

"What in the world?"

Michiru chuckled. He held his sword in front of his own face and whispered, "Power of the Golden, pass judgment!"

He fired a slanting long beam of golden light towards Zeus. The beam travelled so fast that Zeus had barely enough time to dodge it.

"You're not… _him_, aren't you?" Zeus asked

"I don't know, maybe?" Michiru retorted mockingly.

"Grrrhh!" Zeus groaned angrily and leaped away towards the darkness.

Michiru gave a last laugh before hitting the floor. The sword as well as the golden Flame disappeared as he did so. He was back to normal again. He felt out of strength, but that did not stop him from staring at Wilhelmina and also to move towards her. He mustered all his energy and crawled towards her. He put his arms around her and said, "I'm sorry… Wilhelmina…" Then everything went black.


	7. Betrayal

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana, but I DO own Shakugan yes Shana, haha!! ^_^

--------

Michiru: 1 + 1 x 2 = ?

Ryosuke: 4

Michiru: Stupid!

--------

Chapter 7 – Betrayal

After the battle, Zeus decided to return to the headquarters. As he reached his destination, someone whispered his name.

"Zeus..."

At once, Zeus knew who that was- his ally Kojiro Takasu.

"What?" Zeus asked.

"I know what you're planning,"

"But I have hardly any idea of what you're talking about,"

"Don't lie to me, Zeus,"

"You're interrogating me or something?"

"I'm not. But you should know what you're doing,"

"I am perfectly aware of my doings and its outcomes,"

Both of them paused for a little while before Zeus began, "He really is Golden,"

"That kid?"

"Yes,"

"You awakened Golden from him?"

"Exactly,"

"Tell me, then. How did you do that?"

"I told him that the maid was dead and he managed to awaken it. Simple yet effective,"

"You saw the Flame?"

"Yes, shining bright, golden in color,"

"Wonderful, so after that we'll just hand him to Kuvestar and our work is done. We'll share the Flame and gain immortality. A Flame which may never be put out, huh?"

"Do you obviously think that he would really share it?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Anyways, Kojiro, I doubt you'll be able to fight him. Nor me. Nor Ryosuke. I think Kuvestar is the only one who can,"

"Yeah, some helluva cheating skill, gaining a skill of a unit by just touching it? That's what they say 'imba' in DotA…"

"What's a DotA?"

"Oh, it's a game. There's even your name in it! Zeus, the Lord of Olympia. One of the Sentinel's Intelligence Heroes,"

"Whatever…"

"Hey, Zeus,"

"What?"

"Make him appear again. I have a plan,"

"Then tell me what you have in mind, or would you rather keep your brilliant ideas to yourself?"

"How do I expect you to know what to do if I did not tell you?"

"Shoot,"

"Shoot what?"

"I mean tell me about this so-called brilliant plan of yours,"

"Success is guaranteed, Zeus. But there's only one question. Bring him to Kuvestar? Or ask Kuvestar to go to him?"

"It's obvious, Kojiro. Now tell me everything,"

"Alrighty,"

Meanwhile, back in Sakai residence, Shana was grumbling non-stop. Yuji, who got tired of Shana yelling, looked at the clock stupidly to know how long Shana had been mumbling, until he noticed something.

"Shana, the clock is ticking,"

At once, Shana stopped grumbling and looked up at the clock. It was already four o'clock, which means Wilhelmina and Michiru should have been back by now. No Flame Hazes or Mystes have battled without stopping the time.

"Yuji…" Shana said with determination.

Yuji knew what she meant and he did not stop her from doing what she wanted. Something cropped up between Wilhelmina and Michiru and he knew that Shana had to investigate.

"Should I come with you?" Yuji asked.

"I don't think so…" Shana said softly. If she brought Yuji with her there may be a chance that Yuji may face danger. If she left Yuji alone at home one of the four Mystes would capture him. Yet, unlike the Bal Masque, the four Mystes were not looking for Yuji, but Michiru, so Yuji may be safe and sound here.

"Okay," Yuji whispered, "Please be careful, Shana,"

Shana nodded and said, "I will,"

Without further ado, Shana ran out of the house. When she got out, she looked around. She had no idea where Wilhelmina and Michiru went. There were no signs of battling either. Shana was about to leap into the sky and find them before she saw someone standing in front of her holding a person bridal style in his arms.

Shana knew who that person was just by looking at the silhouette. She walked towards the person worryingly, knowing perfectly well who that person was carrying.

"Michiru…" She whispered as Michiru appeared in her vision. He was carrying a battered and unconscious Wilhelmina.

"I'm sorry…" Michiru said sadly, "It was too late. She's dead. It's my entire fault,"

"NO!" Shana screamed, "SHE"S NOT-"

"I'm sorry," Michiru apologized yet again.

"NO!" Shana screamed once more, refusing to accept that Wilhelmina had gone forever. She continued to scream and cry as Michiru put Wilhelmina on the floor, tears flooding in his own eyes.

Then, quite suddenly, she heard a swish that sounded like someone leaping towards them. She spun around and saw Zeus standing in front of her.

Shana brandished her sword and readied herself into a battle stance. Yet, Zeus ignored her calmly and walked towards Wilhelmina. His hand was about to touch her when Shana's sword came down, barely missing him as he dodged it.

"Keep your hands off her," Shana said angrily.

"Only if you want her to continue sleeping," Zeus retorted calmly.

"What?"

"I did not kill her. Rest assured I did not,"

"So why is she like this?" Michiru asked angrily.

"Hypnotize. I was using my hypnotize lightning. She's only fast asleep," Zeus answered

"I never heard of hypnotizing that hurts," Michru retorted, not forgetting Wilhelmina's screaming.

"It was just temporary. You can't stop yourself from feeling pain when you receive an electric shock,"

He walked towards Wilhelmina for the second time and touched her. As Zeus' hand touched her, Michiru and Shana could hear a small moan from Wilhelmina. Shana called out her name happily and rushed towards her, glad that she was alright. Furthermore, Wilhelmina even had the strength to stand up, as if that incident had not happened at all.

Michiru looked at Zeus and said, "Why did you do that for?"

"To awaken Golden inside you. Actually it's to see if you're Golden or not. I came to warn you,"

"Warn me of what?"

"Kojiro is planning something. He plans to make me awaken you again so that Kuvestar could touch you and obtain your powers,"

"Kuvestar?" Shana asked.

"Yes. Kuvestar's ability is to be able to use another being's ability jut by touching it,"

"He could obtain any power just by touching…?!?!?"

"Yes,"

"No way…"

Zeus turned towards Michiru and said, "Just don't let Kuvestar touch you. Or it's game over for the world. Be careful,"

"Your Flame…" Wilhelmina whispered suddenly. Then, Shana noticed it too. Zeus' Flame was very, very small, hardly noticeable.

"Haha," Zeus chuckled, "Yeah, my time is nearly up. A Mystes' Flame may shine longer than the regular Torches, but there's still a time limit. That's why Kuvestar is looking for you. Remember, Kojiro could come and attack anytime and please be prepared. Whatever you do, please don't awaken it for the time being,"

"Yeah, I can't let this Kuvestar touch me, right?"

"Yes," Zeus replied, smiling happily. Then he turned towards Shana and Wilhelmina and said, "Please protect him. The world mustn't fall into Kuvestar's hands,"

"We won't let him," Shana said confidently.

"Good," Zeus replied, and then he turned towards Wilhelmina and said, "I'm sorry. That must have hurt,"

Wilhelmina said nothing for she was still puzzled about Zeus. If he were with Kuvestar, why did he help them? Why did he attack? And what was his purpose to awaken Golden?

"I hope you all can trust me. I know that deep inside you're puzzled, but please don't let Kuvestar have his way," Zeus said a final word before leaping into the sky and disappeared.

The three of them looked up and paused there for a moment until Yuji came out.

"Oh, Shana, good," He said happily, "You found them,"

"Right, let's get inside," Shana said.

The four of them went inside the house, not knowing that someone was on the rooftop all along, watching their every move, hearing every word in their conversation. (Seriously, why on rooftops all the time?)

A man with orange spiky hair stood still, observing them. As he saw them disappear into the house, he whispered, "Bloody bastard,"

He then looked up at the sky, "What is your purpose in doing this, Zeus? You're betraying us or what?"

Unbeknownst to him, Zeus appeared behind him and whispered, "Don't be silly, Ryo. He won't share the Flame. He's just using us to get what he wants. When he got it, he'll throw us away. We won't be ruling this universe together like he promised. He'll rule it himself,"

"Don't act cocky. Your Flame is so small and it could hardly be seen. You need the Flame more than we do,"

"You ain't got much time either. So does Kuvestar. As long as Golden doesn't fall into the wrong hands,"

"You sure you don't want the Flame?"

"I should have been dead long ago, my friend. Flames are a very rare and special chance to extend your life a little longer. All beings live and die. It is a never ending cycle. When Death comes, face it, Ryo. Do not be afraid. Do not be a coward…"

"SHUT UP!"

"You are afraid of death, Ryo. You're such a coward,"

Ryosuke suddenly charged at Zeus, slashing him with his twin blades, very quickly, but Zeus managed to dodge them all.

"Stop sticking to Kuvestar. He's heartless. It won't do you any good,"

"Just shut the hell up!"

Zeus smiled and said, "If that's what you want…"

He leaped off towards a skyscraper far, far away from Sakai residence. Ryosuke leaped towards him and activated the Fuzetsu around the area.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Zeus?" Ryosuke yelled angrily, "Why are you doing this? What are you planning?"

"Ryo…" Zeus whispered.

"You ***ker!" Rysouke yelled. He began to summon wind towards his own body. Strong wind began to blow as Zeus looked on.

"I'll beat some sense into you, Zeus,"

"You won't obtain Golden,"

"Oh yeah?"

Ryosuke grabbed his twin blades and leaped towards Zeus. "Wind Shear," he whispered as he began to spin in a circle very quickly, absorbing almost everything into it, including Zeus.

"Wind Explosion," Ryosuke whispered as he continued spinning. Then, an explosion occurred in the circle in which Ryosuke was spinning. Zeus was blasted off his feet and was sent flying towards the cold, hard, solid ground below the skyscraper.

"It's over, Zeus," Ryosuke mocked, seeing Zeus flying down. Zeus smiled at him and whispered, "Goodbye, Ryo."

"Goodbye to you too, my old friend,"

Ryosuke leaped down towards Zeus and whispered, "Shadow Wind,"

He charged himself headfirst towards Zeus, himself spinning like a mini tornado. Then, his attack passed through Zeus' body, ripping him apart. Ryosuke landed on the ground and looked behind. All that he saw was a very small Flame going up to the sky. He looked at the Flame as it levitated higher and higher. He wanted to reach the Flame and touch it, but a part of him stopped him. He deactivated the Fuzetsu and continued to stare at the Flame. It was going… going… going… gone…

"What is the meaning of this?" These words came out of Ryosuke's mouth when he did not even know what he himself was saying. He did not even know to whom he was asking this question.

"Your thoughts won't affect me Zeus," He said while looking at the starry sky, "I am a coward. I don't care if he is using me. I don't feel violated at all. I wanna live forever,"

"OI!" another voice boomed and Ryosuke turned around to see Kojiro yelling, "Why the hell are you still here for? Let's get back already! Where the hell is Zeus anyway?"

"Somewhere high above…" Ryosuke whispered, "He's gone…"


	8. Ryona Time! Again

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana, but I DO own Shakugan yes Shana, haha!! ^_^

Chapter 8 – Ryona Time! (Again)

Wilhelmina knocked on the door. Michiru was busy playing with his Play Station Portable when he heard the knockings.

"Who's there?"

"Me,"

"Oh,"

Michiru paused the game, got up and opened the door.

"Oh, hi, Wilhelmina."

"Do you have time?"

"Huh?"

"I have some things to talk to you,"

"Yeah, I do. What is it about?"

Wilhelmina entered Michiru's room and sat on his bed without permission. Michiru, taken aback by her faint rudeness, grabbed a chair and sat on it. Yet, although Wilhelmina wanted to talk to Michiru, the latter was the one who spoke first.

"Are you alright?"

"Huh?"

"Zeus didn't hurt you, didn't he?"

"He did. But I'm fine now. It's you I'm worried about,"

"What? Me?"

"Yes. Zeus warned you not to awaken Golden,"

"You're saying they might be planning something?"

"Yes. And it's got to be something so epic that only you can handle."

"So why ask me not to awaken it?"

"Kuvestar is after your Flame. He can't obtain it if you don't awaken it,"

"That's good, cause I dunnno how to do so,"

"But you will…"

"Huh?"

"Something tells me that you will…"

"Err…"

He paused for a moment, thinking about what to continue before he said, "Why did you bring me there?"

"Where?"

"To Zeus,"

"I dunno… Something tells me you will protect me. And you did, Golden."

"I don't even know what I was doing. I was kinda like half conscious. Or maybe even less. I couldn't really control myself …"

Wilhelmina stood up suddenly and Michiru was hit with a sad sensation that this conversation ended so quickly.

"Just be careful by tomorrow, okay?"

"You should take care of yourself too. You're alone at home. Shana and Yuji are with me."

Wilhelmina left the room without saying a word.

"Man…" Michiru groaned, wishing he found something else to talk to her and make her stay longer in the room, only to realize that why on Earth would he want her to stay. He shook himself mentally and continued to play his games.

-----------

"Alright, guys! Today, we'll be playing baseball!"

Michiru whistled to himself happily. He had never played baseball in his new school. While the teacher gave them a briefing, a few guys began to complain.

"Man… how come the girls can do what they want?"

"Yeah, what's with the rules and everything? We can't share PE time with them?"

"They have their fun indoors! The outdoors is always so hot! Not fair!"

"Not today, though… It's kinda cloudy. That's a great help.

Yuji sighed and said, "Well, that's what I hear all the time…"

"They're right, though. Why can't we have PE with the girls?" Michiru replied.

"Oh, no. Not you too!"

"Then what's the point in wearing bloomers if we're not gonna see them wear-"

"AKENABE!"

"Oops, sorry, sensei…"

"Anyways, just split into two teams and we're ready to go."

There was a little commotion as the students selected their partners. Then, they begun to discuss the lineups.

"This is lame. We're doing this all the time."

"Yeah, hey, Akenabe!"

"Huh?"

"This is your first time playing, right?"

"Yeah, today is the first day I'm having PE lessons with you."

"You do know the baseball rules, don't you?"

"Yeah, the pitcher who doesn't get a Ball has no balls."

"Lol…."

"Okay, then. Nagamase will play Left Field. So, who'll play the Pitcher?"

"Just quickly decide, alright? I'm getting bored."

"Right. Akenabe, is it alright if you play Catcher? I'll take the Pitcher's position."

"Yeah, sure. Any position's fine. Yuji, how 'bout you?"

"Huh? Whoa, me?"

"Well… we all have our positions already. So Sakai will play First Base."

"Can we just start and finish this?"

"Hold on, we have to set the At-Bat lineups, too!"

"What the fish? This is getting more boring than I thought…"

--------

Yuji and Michiru were sitting on the bench as they got ready for their turn for the At-Bat.

"Even the Pitcher is simply pitching. Do you guys really hate baseball so much?" Michiru asked.

"It's not baseball we hate, though. It's the fact that the teacher makes us play baseball all the time." Yuji replied.

"So how are you supposed to win the interclass baseball competition? It's starting soon,"

"We'll end up being last place for sure…"

"C'mon…"

"Hey, Sakai!" One of their classmates shouted. "You're next!"

"Oh," Yuji said, he had not been paying attention to the game.

"Right, Sakai. We've got an Out in this inning and this is the third one already. We're down by two to zero, so please get at least a hit, alright? We've only had one. They've got six or seven already…"

"It's just practice…" Yuji sighed.

"Hey, good luck, Yuji!" Michiru yelled from behind.

Michiru could not help chuckling to himself as Yuji stepped up and missed all the swings and ended up receiving a Strikeout.

"Oh, shoot." Yuji said. He could hear some of his classmates laughing and booing at him. He tried his best to ignore them and headed for the bench.

"You're next," He said to Michiru.

"Meh… Finally…" Michiru said as he grabbed his bat and headed for the home plate.

"Right, one more out and it'll take us to the next inning," The pitcher of the opposition team said. "You ready?"

"Yeah," Michiru replied, swinging his bat slowly.

The pitcher made a pitch and seemed to have had an error. It was a fat pitch. It went straight into the middle. Michiru seized this opportunity and gave a great swing. To his relief, the ball went flying very, very high and far.

"Whoa!" Some students yelled.

Michiru did not run as he knew he had obtained a home run before the ball fell down towards solid ground. The ball was heading towards outfield, and then it flew even further and was about to fly over the tall steel net and obtain a home run when suddenly, something out of the ordinary happened. The ball rebounded thin air.

"What in the world?" The pitcher shouted."Akenabe, how did you do that?"

"Hold on… I didn't…"

"It could have gone out and you made it go infield, how did you…?"

"HEY! THE BALL IS STILL IN PLAY!"

"Oh, shit." Michiru grunted, only to realize that the first baseman had the ball.

"OUT!"

"What the hell, Akenabe, tell me how you did that skill..!"

"I didn't do it!" Michiru yelled. He knew there must be something got to do with them. Yuji walked towards him and said, "Let's go find Shana, quick. The teacher isn't here. I wonder where he went."

"Okay,"

As they were leaving the field, they heard their classmates shouting for them, but they ignored them. Michiru could swear that one of them said he wanted to treat him to a drink for making such a spectacular shot.

"You couldn't have done it," Yuji said.

"You're looking down on me?"

They arrived in the indoor court to find the girls playing volleyball.

"SHANA!" Yuji yelled.

"Huh?" Shana, shocked to hear a guy's voice in a girls' territory, turned around. The other girls followed suit. Then, the volleyball which they were playing hit Shana squarely on the head.

"Ouch!" She gave a small squeak and looked at Yuji menacingly. She rushed towards him and slapped him on the face. "This is your fault!" She screamed.

"Err…" Michiru said uncertainly, "Shana-chan, just now when we were playing baseball something happened."

"What?"

"I hit the ball and it rebounded thin air."

"What?"

"Didn't you hear me?"

"I did, alright, you idiot!"

"So what's your opinion?"

"It's got to be them…"

"I think so too, but why would they hit my ball?"

"They couldn't be hitting it…"

"The ball was very fast, though…" Yuji piped up.

"Ryosuke…" Shana said suddenly.

"Him?!?!" Yuji said, shocked.

"He must have done it. He can control wind."

"That makes sense. But why would he blow Michiru's ball away?"

"Simple! To stop him from getting a Home Run, you idiot!" A voice rang behind them.

"Huh?" Shana whispered and turned around. So did Yuji and Michiru.

Ryosuke Tachibana was standing behind them, floating in midair, holding two short knives. Shana looked around, the other students were stationary. They neither blinked nor breathed. Time was obviously stopped.

"Did you do this?" Shana asked, brandishing her sword. Her hair changed from black to flaming red.

"Special, huh? No longer relying on the Fuzetsu anymore. Magic. Hahaha."

"You…!" Shana yelled. The memories of the humiliation she suffered from Ryosuke began to swarm in her mind. She clenched her fists tightly as she stared at her enemy in front of her with hatred.

"Well…" Ryosuke mocked as he landed on the floor softly, "What could I say? Ryona Time!"


	9. Fire vs Wind

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana, but I DO own Shakugan yes Shana, haha!! ^_^

-------------------

Ryosuke: Right. Next, we're gonna do a battle scene. Woohoo! Me and Shana again!

Michiru: Yeah. But first, forgive me, because I'm no good in writing battle scenes.

Ryosuke: Who cares? As long as I get-

Michiru: Not you! To the others who are reading this fic, silly!

----------------

Chapter 9 – Fire vs Wind

"Yuji, stand back!" Shana warned. Ryosuke looked as if he were about to make the first move. Yuji retreated to somewhere near the gym exit and Michiru followed him. His eyes did not leave Ryosuke as he remembered about Wilhelmina's and Zeus' warnings.

"Go on. Ladies first." Ryosuke mocked.

"Why you!" Shana screamed as she heard the word. She charged up in front, ready to slash her enemy into a million pieces. Yet, Ryosuke did not move but merely chuckled. The sword was centimeters away from his head when he whispered softly, "Ghost Walk,"

"Hi-yah!" Shana squeaked as she slashed her sword. The Nietono no Shana went down, only to go through Ryosuke instead of hitting him.

"What?" Shana gasped and she leaped to the back, her eyes still focused on Ryosuke.

"Heh. What? Was I supposed to stand there and let you kill me?" Ryosuke mocked.

"Grrrrrrhhhh!" Shana clenched her fists angrily. Ryosuke was mocking her on purpose and she fell for it. She charged in front and they got into a hack-and-slash battle.

Meanwhile, Michiru was clutching his head and moaning to himself.

"What's wrong?" Yuji asked worryingly, putting his arm on his shoulder.

"Wil…hel…mi…na…" Michiru groaned.

"Huh?"

"Wilhelmina!"

Michiru snapped out of his trance and looked up. Then he dashed out of the gym without saying a word.

"What the…?" Yuji said.

"Urgh!" Shana moaned. Then, there came a loud thud. Shana had obviously fallen to the floor.

"SHANA!" Yuji yelled, running in front to hold her up. His hands had made slight contact with her body before she hit his hand away and struggled to stand.

"Shana…" Yuji said.

"I said stand back!" Shana ordered.

"You want to protect him, eh?" Ryosuke floated towards Shana and mocked her, "When you can't even protect yourself?"

"That does it!" Shana yelled.

"Shana, watch-!" Yuji warned.

* * *

"Wilhelmina…" Michiru whispered to himself. He was running in the streets, praying to reach the Banjou no Shite as soon as possible. Hundreds of images began to swarm in his eyes. Images that he dreaded to see, yet, somehow, he could not stop himself from seeing them.

Wilhelmina was in trouble. He had to reach her. Fast.

And so, Michiru continued to run.

* * *

"Dance of the Wind!" Ryosuke shouted. A gush of strong wind charged at Shana and she quickly blocked it with her sword. She struggled to block the attack.

"Shana! Behind you!" Yuji shouted.

"Wha-!?" Shana said and turned around, to be met with a swift kick to the face.

"Oof!" Shan groaned. Ryosuke had stepped on Shana's head. He continued to put energy on his foot, which was on Shana's face.

"Hahaha…!" That was fun," Ryosuke mocked,

"You…!" Shana was furious. She knocked Ryosuke's leg away, knocking him off balance.

"Whoa…!" Ryosuke gasped, then jumped up and floated in midair. Shana, on the other hand, got back on her feet, sword in hand, her teeth clenched in anger.

"You son of a…!" She screamed.

"No vulgar words, please," Ryosuke said calmly.

"Shana!" Yuji yelled suddenly, "Fight him on air!"

"What?" Shana gaped at him.

"Do as I say," Yuji said, "Please…"

Shana looked back at the Rider of the Wind. Then she nodded her head and said, "Okay,"

Two red wings suddenly appeared on Shana's back. Shana gave them a slight flap, before leaping up to the air, right in front of Ryosuke.

"Feh… You're doing this my way?" Ryosuke asked.

Shana charged at Ryosuke and tried to stab him, but an invisible wall blocked her and she was bounced back.

"Wha-!?" Shana gasped.

"Wall of Wind," Ryosuke explained proudly, "Kinda like a force field. Come and break it if you can,"

"You asked for it!" Shana grunted. She charged at him again and this time, managed to break the barrier.

"Wow!" Ryosuke said with sarcasm, "Impressive! But then again, have you any idea that you're this close to me?"

"Huh?" Shana said.

"You asked for it," Ryosuke said, starting to feel like Kojiro, "Bladestorm!"

Ryosuke grabbed his twin blades and began to spin very quickly in a circle. Ryosuke's twin blades were slashing as he spun, but his spunning was way too fast that all anyone could see was a circle of wind. Shana, whom felt that Ryosuke's attack was too quick for her, received a lot of the slashes.

"Grrr----arrrrrgggghhhh!" Shana moaned as she fell to the floor in slow motion, her whole body battered, her teeth clenched and her fists clutched.

"SHANA!" Yuji screamed and ran in front. Shana, whom she herself expected to hit the floor, was caught by some soft, warm arms.

"Shana…!" Yuji cried, "Shana, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you to…"

"Yuji…" Shana moaned, her eyes threatening to shut.

"Shana…" Yuji cried. Tears would have flooded his eyes if he was not hollow within.

"Awww…" Ryosuke said, landing on the floor, "How touching…"

Yuji looked at Ryosuke, his eyes filled with hatred and anger.

"Don't give me that look."

"What is your purpose of doing this!?"

"Foolish. Could you not see? I'm doing this to gain immortality, so that I do not have to die. Heaven gave me a chance to prolong my life, so heaven should give me a chance to live forever, too."

"I MEAN YOUR PURPOSE OF HURTING SHANA!" Yuji screamed unable to hold his emotions. "Nothing else concerns me!"

"Simple. So that she wouldn't interrupt on what we're going to do next!" Ryosuke explained. He paused and then continued, "Besides, it's fun! Hahaha!"

"You bastard!" Yuji screamed. He leaped up and aimed a punch at Ryosuke's face, only to punch an invisible wall centimeters before his face.

"Forget it. You can never beat me, AND you're not worth my time,"

"I'll never forgive you for hurting Shana!"

"Sure. Let's have a duel when you've become stronger. I must meet Kojiro now. Or else he'll think I'm taking too much time to battle a weakling."

"What?"

"Goodbye, Reiji Maigo. We'll meet again. And I hope that the next time I do you'll be worthy of my time."

Ryosuke summoned a gush of wind and smashed the ceiling into a million pieces. Then, he leaped out, through the so-called ceiling.

"Shana…!" Yuji cried. Shana was unconscious. Maybe he would have to bring her to the school infirmary and treat her wounds, since the infirmary had more medical stuff than at home, in addition to the length of the journey.

* * *

Ryosuke Tachibana was flying. He was heading to his destination, but with many thoughts in his mind as he tried to concentrate on reaching his location in case he overshot it or went to the wrong place.

"Why do you have to brainwash me, Zeus?" Ryosuke whispered to himself.

He continued to fly under the sun. The surroundings were in complete silence. Time had stopped. Ryosuke had a thought that Kojiro should have his job done by now, too. Then, he could be able to get what he craved for.

But… is he going to get it? He thought.

"_Do you obviously think he's going to share it?" _Zeus' words rang in his ears.

Then, Ryosuke remembered the conversation they have had when he first joined them.

"_You don't seem like you trust him,"_ Ryosuke had said.

"_Yeah. Not much,"_ Zeus replied.

"_So why are you with him? Don't you want it, too?"_

"_You're foolish, Ryo. Why would I…?"_

"_Well… You could be immortal…"_

"_That's foolishness, Ryo,"_

"_Why? If you don't want it, why are you with him?"_

"_Spying on him,"_

"_Heh. You can't be. You wouldn't blurt it out if you were,"_

"_I wonder why he recruited you. You seem so foolish,"_

"_Hey! Stop that!"_

"_Alright, then. As you wish. But I must say something."_

"_Don't call me foolish again,"_

"_I know. I'm saying that Notes Kuvestar isn't an angel,"_

"_Huh? What? No… test?"_

(Please 'note' that Notes as in his name does not pronounce as 'Notes' as in 'notes' but more like 'no test' without the 'T' sound at the back)

"_Oh, so you joined in our ranks without knowing his first name?"_

"_He only said his name was Kuvestar,"_

"_Flames cannot be split into six,"_

"_Huh?"_

"_Well, I'll leave you alone for now. Good luck with Elise tomorrow… Hehe,"_

"_Hey, Elise is just one of our allies' alright? I've nothing to do with her!"_

"_I didn't even say anything! Oh, you're guilty, Ryo,"_

"_Seriously, Zeus, how come you have such kind of humor?"_

"_I inherited this from you, haha!"_

"_I'm not like you…"_

"_Oh, well. Please note that you do not possess Kuvestar's powers,"_

"_What does that supposed to mean?"_

"_How are you going to get it?"_

"Just because I don't possess his powers doesn't mean I won't get it. I'm sure he'll share it. I'm sure he will," Ryosuke said to himself, unaware that the conversation was part of his memory.

Ryosuke sighed. He had gotten close to Headquarters.

"Just keep your brilliant ideas to yourself, Zeus. Now I don't trust him. Damn you…"

He looked up at the sky again. A flash of lightning appeared in the sky, followed by a loud rumble. He continued to stare at the sky, but no other sound came.

"What's that supposed to mean?"


	10. Explosion

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana, but I DO own Shakugan yes Shana, haha!! ^_^

Chapter 10 – Explosion

-------------------

Ryosuke: Woohoo! 10 Chapters! Hell yeah!

Michiru: I'm glad we wrote a lot. High five!

This is Michiru-(^_^)/\(^_^)-This is Ryosuke

* * *

"I'm back," Ryosuke Tachibana said after arriving at Headquarters. A man in a black cloak approached him.

"Where is Golden?" Kuvestar asked.

"He must be heading for Sakai Residence… Heard him shouting for her name when he left…"

"Right, Kojiro's heading there. I'm sure he'll make Golden appear, and then I'll go get the Flame. Finally, huh?"

"I hope Kojiro would stay alive. Golden looked as if he could slash him into a million pieces in the blink of an eye,"

"Don't worry, I'll get his flame and destroy him before he does so,"

"You seem pretty confident… He doesn't even know how to activate it…"

"I'm sure he will. Kojiro would do a nice job,"

"I hope we'll get it this time. We've searched forever for it,"

"I told you it wasn't just a myth, didn't I?"

"Yeah. Golden existed… But we're a little too late… Zeus…"

"Don't put the blame on yourself; you didn't kill him. His time was up, anyway…"

"Yeah… Zeus wanted to have a last fight with me before he was gone… What a weird fella…"

Kuvestar turned to face his back at him and continued their conversation.

"There used to be the six of us. Now only three are left. We ain't got much time left,"

"Angelus… He was gone shortly after I've joined you, was it not?"

"Yes. Angelus was wasted. He was powerful, too,"

"Then, there's…. Elise-chan…"

"Haha,"

"Huh?"

"I've noticed it many times. You pronounce her name very weirdly, and your face becomes uncomfortable after you did so,"

"Huh? D-Did I…?"

"Oh well… I'm sure you're disappointed that she left us, eh?"

"Wha-!?"

"So am I. I was wondering why did she gave up the search for Golden and left us,"

"Err…"

"Hmmm… Would you be disappointed if I told you she went to search for a boyfriend?"

"Yeah… But I doubt that. She's gotta have her own reasons…"

"Whatever it is, it's her loss. See, we're this close to immortality…"

"So…" Ryosuke suddenly asked a question that he had been longing to ask, "How're we going to share it?"

Kuvestar stopped in his tracks, and then he slowly turned to Ryosuke and looked at him in the eye.

"I will think of a way after I got it. You have served me well. And thus, you have my promise,"

Ryosuke nodded and Kuvestar walked towards him, then passing him.

"Kojiro should be nearly ready by now. Just wait here. I'll kill him if he drags some more. Time's running out,"

Kuvestar made his way out of Headquarters and Ryosuke looked on.

"I hope you keep your promise. I don't trust you much…"

* * *

"WILHELMINA!"

Michiru screamed as he got closer and closer to Sakai Residence. His hand was about to make contact with the door before he heard an explosion coming from the house.

"Darn! Wilhelmina!" He shouted angrily and opened the door. He rushed into the house and choked.

"Gack! Wha-!?" He croaked as thick black smoke smoke blinded him momentarily. He waved his arms in front of his face, trying to clear the smoke, but to no avail, he could not see anything at all, not even his arms or his shoes or even the wall.

Just then, he heard a small cough and he recognized the voice instantly.

"Wilhelmina!" He gasped.

The coughing continued and Michiru approached the location which the sound was coming. In the blink of an eye, he caught hold of a soft arm, which, apparently, was Wilhelmina's, and managed to drag her out of the house, even without knowing his way.

As the duo managed to escape from the horror of the smoke, Michiru let go of Wilhelmina's arm. She coughed and massaged her throat with her right hand while her left hand was pressed on her own forehead.

"Wilhelmina…" Michiru whispered, "Are you okay?"

Wilhelmina was still coughing badly and does not seem to be in a condition to explain to Michiru, or maybe she did that on purpose as she did not want Michiru to know what she had done.

"What happened?" Michiru asked worryingly, but Wilhelmina refused to reply, although a part of her wanted to reveal the whole story.

Michiru smiled. He walked towards the Banjou no Shite and put his arm on her shoulder.

"Don't worry," He consoled her, "My mouth is as good as zipped,"

"I was cooking…" Wilhelmina spouted out.

"Wow…"Michiru said, feeling a little awesome, "I never knew cooking could-"

He shut up suddenly, noticing that Wilhelmina looked a little sad.

"Sorry…"

"It is okay… I know I am a very bad cook, but I… I still…."

"Nah… It's what you like to do, right? Kinda like your hobby, was it not?"

"…"

"So, don't worry, okay? But inform me next time if you want to attempt it again. I'll try to help… Huh?"

Michiru suddenly grabbed Wilhelmina's right hand and had a close look at it.

"Wilhelmina, your hand…"

Wilhelmina noticed that there was a burn mark on her hand. She wrenched her hand away from him, but he clutched it tighter instead.

"Wilhelmina… Your hand…" Michiru whispered.

"I am fine," Wilhelmina replied, making another attempt to hide her injured hand.

"You burnt your hand while cooking, not?" Michiru asked. His voice rose for a certain reason, a mixture of concern and anger.

Wilhelmina did not answer and continued to stare at the floor with a guilty and regretful expression on her face.

"They didn't allow you to cook?" Michiru asked.

"I blasted the kitchen once…" Wilhelmina replied.

"Oh gosh… I bet you like cooking a lot, huh?"

Wilhelmina nodded.

"It's okay, Wilhelmina. I'll go get you a bandage, hold on…"

Before Wilhelmina could react by saying "There is no need", Michiru disappeared into the house. And the smoke. Michiru touched the wall for support as he made his way into the never-vanishing smoke.

He coughed continuously as smoke fogged his eyes, but that did not stop him from obtaining the bandage for Wihelmina. He was also amazed at his ability and capability of bringing Wilhelmina out of the house in a blinded state, for he could not see anything now. He also crashed face first into the wall for numerous times.

Finally, he managed to touch something which felt like a med kit. Feeling happy and relished, he headed towards the exit, only to be faced with the same problem. Finally, he managed to exit the building.

He opened the medkit and took out some ointment and some plasters as well as a couple of bandages. Then, he applied some ointment on Wilhelmina's injured hand. Wilhelmina flinched as the ointment touched her wound.

"I know this hurts. Just bear with it a little while, okay?" Michiru said, and gave her a smile.

Wilhelmina stayed a quiet and good girl as Michiru bandaged her hand. When Michiru was treating her wounds, he was not looking at her, but she was. Wilhelmina had a very weird and strange feeling squirming inside her. Why would someone she had known for only a few days do so much for her? She had a feeling that Shana would not be as hardworking as Michiru was now. She continued to stare at him, who did not know that she was doing so, until…

"There. It's done," Michiru said happily and examined her hand one last time to make sure that the bandage was tight and would not simply fall off. Wilhelmina got rid of her trance and jerked awake mentally suddenly.

Michiru turned around and looked at the house. Instantly, he knew what to do.

"I'll clear this mess before they come home. Just stay here. Your hand is injured," Michiru told Wilhelmina.

"I am fine. I will do it," Wilhelmina replied.

"Nah, I don't want you to put pressure on your wounds, or else they won't heal fast," Michiru said, "You can pay me back next time,"

Michiru walked towards the house and disappeared into it once again, leaving Wilhelmina alone to sort out her feelings. Once he was inside again, he managed to open all the windows in the house, so that the smoke could clear off through the windows.

After the condition in the house seemed better, Michiru headed towards the kitchen, which, of course, was a real mess. There were egg yolk on the floor, rice were scattered, broken plates and bowl were seen everywhere. Michiru could not help smiling as he picked up the broken pieces of the plates one by one and chucked them into the dustbin. Then, he used a towel to wipe the egg yolk away.

He took quite some time to finish the job, but once done, he looked around the kitchen, feeling a little satisfied that the kitchen looked as good as new, no signs of Wilhelmina wrecking the kitchen. He gave himself a triumphant whoop as he headed towards the outside.

"There, see? It's done. Don't worry," He told Wilhelmina. Then, he added, "Hmmm… maybe I need some new cutleries. They might notice that some of them are gone. Or maybe Yuji's mother would once she comes home,"

Then, as swift as a stallion, he rushed towards a hypermarket which came across his vision whenever he goes to school with Yuji and Shana. While running, he felt a little excited. He did not have to pant or worry about running out of stamina. He was hollow. Empty. Unaffected by the flow of time. Somehow, the fact that he was someone not alive but living in this world did not bother him at all.

He entered the hypermarket, and then into the cutleries section. He took some plates and bowls and put them into a plastic bag. The humans inside the hypermarket were neither moving nor breathing. Michiru took out some money from his pocket and stuffed them into the cash register of one of the counters, hoping that what he did was not considered stealing, since he had paid for them.

Subsequently, during his way back to Yuji's house, he had other thoughts in his mind. The time was still frozen, which meant either Shana lost, or the battle was still not over. He also thought about their motive of stopping time with another method instead of using the common Fuzetsu. Maybe they were the only ones who can deactivate Time Freeze, while any Flame Haze could deactivate the Fuzetsu.

"Wilhelmina!" Michiru shouted as the silhouette of a maid approached him slowly. Wilhelmina slowly came into view and Michiru said happily, showing her the plastic bag, "Now we don't have to worry,"

Yet, Wilhelmina looked a little strange. She did not look happy, but rather alert.

"What's wrong?"

"Something's here…"

"Who?"

"I am not sure. The aura is getting close,"

"Let's just run,"

"No,"

"So you're going to fight?"

"…"

"I doubt that you have fully healed from you first battle. You can't fight right now. Let's go meet up with Yuji and Shana first..."

Wilhelmina nodded.

"They are in the school gym. Or, at least, they were,"

"Let us go,"

"Okay,"

Wilhelmina wrapped Michiru's stomach. This time, knowing that this might happen, Michiru did not yell, but merely said, "Please be careful,"


	11. Elise, Signum no Saber

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana or anything associated with it.

Chapter 11 – Elise, Signum no Saber

Yuji Sakai put Shana on the bed. He then grabbed a first aid box somewhere in the infirmary and bandaged Shana's wounds with the inventory found in it. Then, quite suddenly, he heard footsteps coming from behind.

He turned around to see a girl who had an appearance of eighteen to twenty years old. She had long blue hair and held a very, very long katana. Yuji could tell that this girl has roughly the same height as Wilhelmina Carmel.

Yuji knew this girl was not human. The time had not been resumed by any of the four (in this case, three) Mystes. The girl slowly walked into the room, her eyes darted from Shana to Yuji. Yuji suddenly felt like talking.

"Ummm…" Yuji began.

"Ryosuke?" The girl answered.

"Huh? No, my name is Yuji…"

"I mean Ryosuke was here before, right? Ryosuke Tachibana,"

"Yeah… He did this to her,"

"I see… I assume that she battled him and lost?"

Yuji was suddenly struck with a need to ask a question.

"Umm… Can you tell me who you are?"

"Me? My name is Elise,"

"So… you are a Flame Haze?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I… dunno..."

"Well, you may say I am a Flame Haze,"

"Right… Err...what did you say your name was again, miss?"

"Elise,"

"Oh, Elise-san, nice to meet you. So… how did you know about Ryosuke?"

"We… used to be on the team. There were the six of us, though, but Angelus was gone and I left them, so there's only four left,"

"You were with them? But… why?"

"Long story short. I used to be a Mystes but I made a pact with a Guze to become a Flame Haze,"

"Hello," said a female voice.

"WHOA! Who's there!?" Yuji shouted.

Elise gave a small chuckle. "It's my sword. She's my persona. Her name is Signum,"

"Nice to meet you, Yuji-kun," Signum said.

"Err…" Yuji was lost for words. He just had a big shock.

"Hold on… who was the one you mentioned?"

"Who? Oh, Angelus?"

"Yeah. That. He's one of them too?"

"Uh-huh. But his Flame could burn no more. So he's gone,"

"And you… You became a Flame Haze from a Torch?"

"…Yes…"

"Wow, I didn't know that…"

"Well, we'd do anything to prolong our life span. That's why they were looking for Golden. Even when I joined them I still thought it was only a myth and Golden doesn't exist, but… I was wrong…"

"Hmmm… Golden…"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. So… you thought that you'll never find Golden… Then you became a Flame Haze as it's a way to make you live longer. I wonder why the four of them didn't just use your way."

"It's not that simple…"

"How?"

"No point telling you,"

"Hmmm… so now that you've become a Flame Haze you probably don't need Golden anymore, huh?"

"You're absolutely right. That's why I'm going to locate and destroy it,"

"You… what!?!"

"I'm gonna destroy it, so that nobody can get their hands on it again. Especially Kuvestar. If he gets it the universe is over,"

"This Kuvestar… He's very powerful?"

"Powerful, dangerous, clever and cunning,"

"Whoa…"

"I also had information that Golden is somewhere in Misaki City and inside some guy who does not know that he was it. Do you, by any chance, know anything?"

"Err…"

Yuji paused. He wanted to tell Elise that Michiru was Golden. Yet, a part of him still did not trust her much. Maybe he should not tell her. Shana and Wilhelmina may not approve.

"Nope. Not by any chance. It seemed that you'll have to look somewhere else,"

"Well, if that's the case, I have another question. Do you know Ryosuke's purpose of being here?"

"Nah,"

Even as Yuji said no, he was actually thinking about it. Now it seemed obvious that Ryosuke must have had a motive of being here. He said before that he did this so Shana would not interfere on what they were going to do next. Then, he remembered that Michiru was shouting for Wilhelmina as he ran out of the gym.

So, maybe…? They were going for Wilhelmina?

No. Yuji thought. They have no reason to find her. It was Golden, or Michiru that they needed. Ryosuke was this close to Michiru but he did not capture him. Everything seemed strange and weird.

So, if they were going for Wilhelmina, what is their purpose?

"I feel something," Elise whispered, making Yuji snap out of his thoughts.

"What is it?"

"Another Flame Haze. It seemed to be heading here,"

* * *

"Oh, fuck!" Kojiro Takasu grunted. He entered Sakai Residence and there was not a soul in the place. Apparently, the maid Flame Haze was not here. Now he had failed his mission, which was to capture Golden. Ryosuke tipped him off that Michiru was heading this way, but it seemed that he managed to get here and get the Banjou no Shite to somewhere else, probably to safety before him.

"Great. Just great!" He mumbled to himself. "Ryo was the one who took his own sweet time while battling so he came to me late and now I have to take the blame for arriving here slow! Gah! Darn you, Ryo!"

He exited the building and leaped away. He did not want to head to Headquarters. Stupid Ryosuke! Now he had to be scolded for something which was not his fault.

Then, he felt a familiar presence coming from somewhere. He headed towards the direction.

"It… can't be!" He whispered to himself, shocked. He must find out.

-----------------

"Wilhelmina…" Michiru, whose stomach was wrapped with ribbons currently, said, "Look,"

Wilhelmina, holding the ribbon which tied Michiru, looked at the direction Michiru was pointing. There seemed to be a large hole coming from a place.

"Wilhelmina, it's our school gym!" Michiru shouted, noticing the place.

Wilhelmina flew towards the gym and Michiru explained to her, "Shana and Ryosuke were battling here. Oh, no…"

Wilhelmina landed in the gym. She released the ribbon holding Michiru and they looked around. There was no sign of Yuji, Ryosuke, or Shana.

"Yuji! Shana-chan!" Michiru shouted, but there was no reply.

"I think we should check around the rest of the school. They may still be nearby," Michiru said, hoping that Ryosuke had not captured Shana and Yuji.

Wilhelmina nodded.

"So… shall we stick, or shall we part?" Michiru asked.

Before Wilhelmina could answer, there came footsteps. A female silhouette appeared on the door in front of them.

"I see. The Banjou no Shite," The figure said.

Wilhelmina, sensing danger, got into a battle trance.

The girl walked towards them, showing no signs of wanting to attack. As they got closer, Michiru noticed that, coincidentally, she and Wilhelmina were the same height.

"Allow me to introduce myself," Elise said, "My name is Elise and this is my persona Signum,"

"Hello," Signum said.

"I'm here to find out more about a Mystes called Golden. Do you, by any chance, know about its location?" Elise continued.

"What do you want from him?" Wilhelmina demanded.

Elise raised an eyebrow. "So you knew about Golden?"

"What do you want from him?" Wilhelmina asked angrily, again.

"I'm going to destroy it. Hold on, why are you using 'him' instead of 'it'?"

Wilhelmina did not answer, but stared at Elise angrily. This Flame Haze in front of her was hunting for Golden, too, just like the others, only with a different motive, and she did not want that to happen.

"Wait a minute!" Elise exclaimed. "That boy there… What is he?"

"Huh?" Michiru asked stupidly. "Me?"

"You are neither Flame Haze nor Rinne," Elise said slowly, "Yet you have no Flame. In fact, I don't detect any aura around you, almost like you weren't even there at all!"

She gasped, and said happily, "I finally found you! HA! I never knew I could find it so fast! Some kind of luck!"

Elise brandished her long katana, but Wilhelmina was quick. Her ribbons tied around it and she gave it a tug.

"Why? You're trying to protect it? For what? It'd be better if he was destroyed. He has no use to you at all. You're a Flame Haze,"

Wilhelmina continued to stare at Elise angrily. Neither of them looked as if they were going to attack first.

"So… Finally found it, eh?" A scrawny voice echoed in the gym. The three of them looked up at the hole which Ryosuke made. Kojiro Takasu jumped down soundlessly and turned to Elise. "But it's a little too late, don't you think? Look what you've done to yourself!"

"Kojiro," Elise whispered angrily. Wilhelmina's ribbons still wrapped around her sword.

"I'm glad you remember my name! It's an honor! So, tell me. How did you end up leaving us and making a pact with a stupid Guze and turned yourself into this… monstrosity?"

"None of your business,"

"How rude! Anyways… How foolish are you to be trying to destroy Golden, eh? You know it's the Flame of Everlasting! Everlasting! You can't destroy it! Nobody can! That's why nobody believed such a Torch existed. Not even you,"

"Tch,"

"Why did you give up? Why did you leave us?"

"Mind your own business,"

"Now that I've found it and I'm going to become an immortal, does your heart burn with jealousy? Do you regret that you've made a rash and stupid decision?"

"SHUT UP!"

"Oh, so you really are!"

"YOU…!"

"Angelus and Zeus. They rather lose their existence as Mystes. Unlike you, little miss coward,"

"Zeus!? He's…!?"

"Yeah. So now there are only three of us. Getting lonelier, I am. So… how about you show me the new you in your Flame Haze form? I wanna see your new skills,"

"You asked for it!"

"Feh. Right, don't interfere, miss maid,"

Wilhelmina let go of the ribbons and stepped to the side. Michiru followed suit. Kojiro banged his fists together, a grin on his face. The fists instantly turned into iron fists.

"Right, Elise. Show me what you've got!"


	12. A Mysterious Voice

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana.

Chapter 12 – A Mysterious Voice

"Go on," Kojiro said, "Ladies first,"

Elise refused to attack. Kojiro mocked her again.

"I see. You may have become a Flame, but you're still your old self. Never attacking unless attacked. Pretty foolish, though. Back then when we were training I was the one who attacked first, all the time. So now, I'm letting you first. Fair,"

"Cut the crap," Elise retorted.

"Oh, dear. We're gonna waste time staring at each other. Neither of us is willing to make the first move,"

Elise did not answer.

"Meh. Oh well, I'll go first then. We'll fight like we used to, okay?"

Elise nodded.

"Since I said the word 'like we used to', I'll make the first move,"

Kojiro answered, and then leaped to do an attack. Elise managed to dodge all of the attacks.

"Geez…" Elise said.

"What? You think that I'm slow?"

Elise chuckled.

"Dang," Kojiro said, leaping to the back. His distance between him and his opponent was reset.

"Come on, then," Elise whispered.

"Right, lady. You can smile now, as much as you want. We'll see who gets the last laugh,"

Elise smile disappeared a little instantly.

"Heheh. You know pretty well I have a huge advantage here. And sex has nothing to with it,"

"Wha-!?"

"Err… by sex I mean gender. Anyways… You know that you're a Flame Haze now, right? You've got to have characteristics of one. You're breathing, I suppose?"

Elise gasped. Now she knew what Kojiro meant.

"You see, I can do what you cannot do in this battle. I can wear you out. You, on the other hand, cannot do so, for I am dead. And you, you will feel tired…"

"SHUT UP!"

"Oh? Getting angry now, I suppose?"

"You-!"

"Heh, I'm not finished yet. I think that you should listen to what I say next even if you despise it,"

Kojiro paused, and then continued.

"Golden. I'm sure that you're… er… how should I put it…? Regret and jealous?"

Elise clenched her fists angrily, also hoping that Kojiro would zip his own stupid mouth. Yet, Kojiro continued to talk.

"Regret that you've made such a decision. Such a rash decision. Turning yourself into this… abomination when… something much, much better is given to you. Golden could have been yours, you know. Its powers. Everything. You just chose the wrong path, Elise. It's too late to regret now. You will have to die,"

Elise could not control her anger anymore.

"JUST SHUT UP!" She screamed angrily.

"_Just shut up_!" Kojiro mocked her by imitating her voice in a scrawny tone. "What's the matter? I read your mind, didn't ya? I bet that that was what you think! Golden just slipped away from you… I bet you're so jealous of me, going to be immortal and …"

Before Kojiro could finish his sentence, Elise's sword came down and he barely managed to dodge it.

"Oops. I lost concentration, didn't I?" He said.

Another attack came.

"Wow, Elise. That's the first time you attacked someone without the latter attacking you! I've struck lottery!"

Slashes and dodges continued.

"Hmmm…" Kojiro said as he dodged the attacks. "Your attacks… they seem pretty slow. Very unlike the ones you give me back then,"

"Can you just shut up?" Elise said angrily as she prepared for another attack.

"Whassamater? Admitting that you're weak?"

"Hiyah!" Elise squeaked as she swung her sword round and round.

"I can't take it. This bores me out. I'll just finish you off th- Oh wait a moment!" Kojiro said, and exclaimed suddenly, his eyes wide and round.

Elise looked up, feeling a little shock too.

"You know that maid over there? I belly punched her so hard that she vomited blood! And on top of that, she fainted from only one hit! WOOHOO! And the best part is… SHE SOUNDS AND LOOKS SO HOT! WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Kojiro yelled loudly and happily, his voice louder and louder, as on purpose, to provoke Wilhelmina's weakness.

"RRRGGHH!" Wilhelmina felt very angry. She clutched her fists and clenched her fists. Michiru put his hands on her back and her anger was suddenly vanished, magically. She turned around to see Michiru giving her a supporting look, as if telling her not to get carried away by her anger and attack Kojiro.

Then, quite suddenly, again, her anger rose. Michiru obviously felt that she was no match for Kojiro. That's why he wanted to stop her from engaging him in a battle.

Quite suddenly, another weird sensation Wilhelmina felt. Her moods seem to be changing very quickly. Touched. She felt touched. Touched that Michiru was actually worried about her. Michiru wanted harm to stay away from her.

Wilhelmina finally shook herself mentally, forcing herself to stop thinking about her sudden mood swings and about Michiru.

Meanwhile, Kojiro and Elise were having a chat.

"And since the maid was so hot," Kojiro continued, "Then you must be very hot, too! Why not I run you two tests? One for how many belly punches you can endure before fainting and the other one should be your hotness!"

"You sadistic bastard!" Elise grunted.

"Oh? I'm sadistic? Good, actually. Sadism for the win, hahaha! So, now… Ready for the test? I look forward to it, you know? You must beat the maid in every aspect,"

Wilhelmina, who was listening to their conversation, could not control her anger anymore, but as she conjured up a ribbon, Michiru grabbed her arm and squeezed it tight.

"You promised not to interfere," He whispered.

"Let go," Wilhelmina said, feeling angry.

"I can't. You must keep your promise," Michiru replied.

"Let go," Wilhelmina repeated, raising her voice.

"Never," Michiru said calmly.

"You think that I am no match for him, then?"

"I just don't want you to get hurt, Wilhelmina. Besides… your hand… It's still wounded…"

"I am fine!"

"You're not. I don't want you to fight him because you wanted to act cool. That way, then more you can't beat him,"

Wilhelmina was starting to feel irritated. Michiru makes mountains out of molehills. She was perfectly fine, but he was always fussing.

"You cannot stop me,"

"But I can try. I'll keep on trying even if I fail,"

Wilhelmina kept quiet.

"Please. Leave them be for the moment. This is a battle between two old acquaintances. We're not to interfere. I think we should go look for Shana. We should see if she's okay,"

"… No…"

Michiru was taken aback by her answer. He always thought that Wilhelmina cared a lot for Shana. Since neither of them had anything to do here they might as well do something else.

"What!?"

'I will stay here," Wilhelmina answered determinedly.

"But…" Michiru stammered.

"She will be fine,"

"… Okay. Then I'll stay here with you,"

"TOO SLOW!" Kojiro yelled suddenly, attracting attention from Michiru and Wilhelmina. They could see Elise attacking Kojiro violently, and the latter dodging the attacks with a smirk on his face.

'Kiangz!' A sound was heard when Kojiro grabbed Elise's sword.

"Wha-!?" Elise squeaked, shock.

"Meh. You forgot what I have, didn't you? Iron fists,"

Elise wanted to draw back her sword, but Kojiro's grip on her sword was too tight.

"Say… Never heard of it, but this sword, is your Guze and your weapon at the same time?"

Elise applied more force in pulling her sword.

"So what?" She answered angrily.

Kojiro raised an eyebrow, but his answer given was not about what Elise asked.

"Hmmm? You want your sword back, was it not? Why don't you just say?"

Elise gasped. Kojiro loosened his grip suddenly and Elise was thrown backwards by her own force. Then, during midair, Kojiro leaped at her and gave her something he loved.

His hands made contact with her belly. Elise's eyes shot wide when she received that punch. She tried her best to stifle a scream, but a moan could still be heard. Next moment, she was slammed hard onto the ground. Cracks appeared.

"Tch," Kojiro said triumphantly while getting up from his squatting position. He took a few steps backwards. He saw that Elise was lying down on the floor, struggling to get up, but all she could do was lift her head and the upper part of her shoulders. Nothing more. The look of Elise clenching her fists and making some grunting noises gave him delight.

"Wow! C'est magnifient!" He said loudly and happily, "You know, the sight of girls in peril, struggling to stay consciousness or to get back on their own feet just keeps me… ahhh… going… heheheh… The moans, the cries, the squeaks, the screams…"

Elise grabbed her sword. She pierced the floor with it and held onto it for support as she tried to stand. It was hard. Kojiro likes to target the weak spot. And whenever he does, he does it very, very hard intentionally.

"So… you on for another one like this? Or even harder?"

"You… b-b-bas… t-t..tard…" Elise moaned weakly, struggling to get up.

"Hmmm… or maybe, you should go for keeping your eyes open for a longer time than the maid. You're halfway into beating her record now,"

"You'll – urrh- pay... for… this… urrrh…" Elise continued to moan.

"Save some energy, dear," Kojiro mocked loudly, laughing, "Don't waste your strength on pointless things. You need to stay conscious longer than her, you know? Although I must admit. You sound hot too when you're weak. So nice… So hot…"

Maybe Elise grew tired and angry from listening to Kojiro's sadistic talk, or maybe the word 'dear' angered her, for she suddenly aimed a punch at Kojiro, but Kojiro grabbed her throat and squeezed it hard. Elise chocked.

"Sorry. Must be tough, huh? Losing a battle on your debut. Oh wait, this is the second chapter you're appearing, not?" Kojiro smiled.

Kojiro lifted his free hand, looking at Elise's angry eyes.

"You see now? Back then you don't even know what pain was. And now that you've experienced it, you probably hat it, not? Haha, you can't do that to me, though. I won't get tired. You will,"

"You… said… that… m-many… t-gurk-ughh-times-rrrhhh…" Elise croaked.

"Oh well. Now that you've lost and looked so battered and everything I bet that you have lots to say,"

Elise opened her mouth to say something again, but the words which escaped from her mouth were barely a whisper. Kojiro only caught the word 'revenge'.

"Oooh… that's cute. Revenge. When you're about to die? Hahaha. Oh yeah, now that I've got your neck you probably can't breathe! See? See what being a Flame Haze gets you? I have no such problems! WOOHOOHOOHOO!"

Elise tried to pry Kojiro's hand away from her neck, but her attempts were feeble, as if an ant trying to lift a glass.

"You're struggling. That's not good. Why don't I just end everything?"

He put his iron fist in front of Elise's eyes, signaling something.

"You know what this means? RYONA TIME!"

(Ryosuke: Hey! He stole my lines! Bastard!)

Kojiro must have had very bad luck. His second attempt belly punches were never successful. Back then it was Zeus who interfered. Now it was Wilhelmina.

"Oh, you're here? I almost forgotten?" He said, after his fist was wrapped up by Wilhelmina's ribbons.

"Let her go!" Michiru shouted.

"Yes. Yes I will. Because I found something better to do!"

Then, seeing that Wilhelmina was actually pulling her ribbon, he gave her a mocking.

"You won't beat me in tug-of-wars,"

He gave the ribbon a powerful tug. Wilhelmina, careless, was lifted off her feet and flying towards Kojiro like a pin attracted to magnet.

"WILHELMINA!" Michiru screamed at the top of his lungs, but that did not stop what that was meant to happen. Kojiro let go of Elise, as promised, but the fist which was holding Elise found Wilhelmina's weak spot, and she was sent flying again, then crashed onto the wall.

"WILHELMINA!" Michiru screamed again. He ran quickly towards her, who was lying on the floor, coughing up a lot of blood. He knelt down as he reached her. He then lifted her head and put it on his lap.

"No… No... Wilhelmina… please…" he pleaded.

"Not again…" Wilhelmina moaned, cursing her bad luck of receiving powerful belly punches all the time.

"Please… stay awake, Wilhelmina… stay awake… don't faint!" Michiru cried (I don't mean weep) as he saw that Wilhelmina was about to close her eyes. He was terrified that she would not open them again when she closed them.

He lifted her up bridal style and whispered, "Please… stay conscious… I'm begging you… I can't lose you… I can't… please… hang in there… I beg you… I'll bring you to treat your wounds! So… hang in there!"

Wilhelmina smiled as she looked at Michiru, more blood drizzling from the corner of her mouth. Michiru was not loking at her, but running to the exit, bringing her somewhere to treat her wounds. The Mystes with the golden flame was being stupid. She was not going to die this easily. Michiru was overreacting, but maybe that was because he cared about her a lot. She was touched. Michiru was the only person this nice to her. Nobody had shown her caring like he did. Never even as she hoped.

"MUAHAHAHAHAHA!" Kojiro laughed loudly, the echoes ringing in Michiru's ears as he felt a sudden wave of anger emiting inside him, but he still continued to run. "Double Kill! WOOHOO! Today is sooooo my day! WAHAHAHA!"

"Have you no shame?" A quiet voice came.

"Huh?" Kojiro stammered. His smile vanished. He was looking around to see where the voice was coming from. Michiru wanted to turn around too, but thought the better of it. Wilhelmina was bleeding. He had to help her. Fast.

He exited the gym, ignoring the voice. A figure suddenly appeared in front of Kojiro. (Appearances details… until NeonicOverlord replies. Sorry, but I wanna upload fast.)

"Huh? Y-You're!?" Kojiro shouted.

"You do remember me, don't you?" The figure replied.

Meanwhile, Michiru was thinking about the voice he had heard just now. It seemed familiar, but he knew he had not heard such a voice. If you heard someone's voice only once, it would be hard to remember, but Michiru remembers this voice well, as if he had been hearing it for a long time.

Whose mysterious voice was that? He thought to himself.

Ryosuke: She's going to hate you, my friend.


	13. Time

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana

Chapter 13 – Time

Michiru carried Wilhelmina and ran as fast as he could. The infirmary crossed his mind, but something struck him. What if the enemies are waiting there? He thought to himself. He was powerless to protect Wilhelmina. Zeus also warned him not to use his powers.

He did not know where to bring her. Suddenly, no place is a safe place for them. He thought of many places through the panic of Wilhelmina bleeding. Yuji's house. Maybe not. His own? Yes, that might be safe, but it still seemed too obvious for him to go to some place he knew. Maybe he should head to somewhere he did not know, or was not familiar with.

That is, if he may be able to find out about a place he did not know, of course.

Michiru exited the school gate as fast as a stallion. He was still pondering where to go. Then, he thought about letting her rest in an empty house. The problem is he could not enter every single house to check whether it was occupied or not. Wilhelmina may not make it.

He headed towards the residential area, praying hard. Wilhelmina was still conscious, but looking and feeling extremely weak. He need to give her rest, but he need to keep her safe too. He looked around the area. There were people stopping in their actions midway, so time must still be stopped now. Then, his eyes focused on the words carved outside a house. The kanji words read 'Hirai'.

At first, Michiru did not bother about the name, but he felt that the name was familiar somehow. Of course! Michiru recalled Yuji telling him that Shana had taken place over a girl named Yukari Hirai. Shana also had this name written on her text books and exercise books.

Michiru felt excited. This may be the perfect place for Wilhelmina to rest as long as she needed. Hoping that this was the house he needed, Michiru entered the place. As expected, the house was empty. On top of that, the house seemed pretty dusty and dirty, showing signs of an abandoned house. Michiru whistled triumphantly.

He went inside a room downstairs which was closest to him. He saw a bed inside the room. Surprisingly, the bed was sheeted. So were the pillows. Michiru put Wilhelmina on the bed gently. He stuffed the pillow under her head. He could feel the softness of the pillow via his hands. Then, he covered Wilhelmina under the blanket.

"Sorry," Michiru apologized, kneeling by the bed.

Wilhelmina gave her a look that says,"For what?"

"You must be very exhausted now. I'm sorry I forced you to stay conscious through the dizziness," Michiru continued, "I… I was scared… I don't want you to close your eyes. I was afraid… afraid that you… you won't open them again…"

He held her left palm and squeezed it gently with both his hands.

"I lost you once… I can't lose you again… I can't…" Michiru said. He was talking about the incident which Zeus pretended to kill her. Michiru felt angry. Zeus used Wilhelmina as a tool for experiment, to test out whether he is Golden or not. He still could not forgive him, although he had apologized, and Wilhelmina was fine. Back then, he felt as if his world was being torn apart. He thought he was never going to meet her again… She was gone… Forever…

He buried his own head onto his hands as well as Wilhelmina's.

"I caused a great deal of trouble…" He sighed, "You got hurt so many times because of me… Darn..."

He squeezed her hand even tighter as he continued, angrily, "Why didn't I just pass on? Why did I come back? Dammit… I never asked to live again. I don't even know who I am. I don't even know my own name! Why did I exist? Why can't I just die? Die like a normal person… I never asked to come back. I'm better off being dead! I caused trouble! I caused you and Shana to get hurt! I made you all busy!"

He let go of her hand. He stood up and punched the wall, hard, screaming, trying to relish his anger. He then banged his head on the wall. He wished he felt pain. He wanted to feel the pain that Wilhelmina had suffered because of him.

"You all got hurt trying to protect me! And what's more… what's more… I have power! I have the power to protect you all! But did I do that? I didn't! I didn't use the power to protect you when I had them! I'm such a bl**dy coward!"

He paused, continuing to punch the wall as hard as he could, screaming, "Why me? Why me!"

Michiru felt a touch on his shoulder. He spun around. Wilhelmina was touching his shoulder.

"Hold on, don't get up! You're still feeling weak-"

Wilhelmina's legs suddenly gave way. She gave a whimper and was about to fell. However, Michiru was quick. He managed to catch her before she fell. He smiled, glad that she had not hurt herself from the fall, when quite suddenly he realized that he was doing something he had never intended or dreamed to do so.

Michiru had Wilhelmina in his arms. He was hugging her. He could not believe it. His arms wrapped aroung Wilhelmina's lovely body, her face this close to his. He was stunned at this, but he knew that he had to let her go.

Once again, he put Wilhelmina on the bed, stuffed the pillow under her head, and covered her up with the blanket.

"Get some rest, alright? You're safe now. I'll protect you if anything happens, so please don't worry. Give me a shout if you need me, alright?" Michiru said. He touched Wilhelmina on the forehead.

Wilhelmina looked at him, nodded, and then closed her eyes.

Michiru sighed. He hated to see Wilhelmina getting hurt. Then, having nothing to do, he looked around. The place was pretty stuffy and dusty. Wilhelmina would breathe in dirty air, he thought to himself. Maybe he should clean this place up.

The stranger with the mysterious voice picked Elise up. She was still conscious, but clenching her teeth and shaking, moaning once in a while, trying to conceal the pain.

"You really aren't shameful of what you've done? Beating girls up?" The stranger said.

"You can't be… Arken?" Kojiro asked, ignoring the person's question.

"Who the hell do you think I am, then?" The stranger replied coolly.

"You're really… Arken Varles?" Kojiro asked again.

"Don't ask pointless questions…" Arken snapped.

"Fine… You're Arken. And can you remove the cap?"

"For what?"

"I don't like Padres,"

"You're such a fuss…" Arken sighed, then removed his cap, revealing spiky blue hair that was pointing downwards.

"Meh. I remember this hair, alright?" Kojiro said.

"I'm honored," Arken said sarcastically.

"That's because you gave me a second chance to live again, my hero," Kojiro answered playfully, "You turned me into a Mystes,"

"Yeah. Using the second chance to beat girls up, huh?"

"So…" Kojiro began, "What were you trying to say again?"

"You and your sadistic, no never mind… Forget about that. I've something more important to ask now that I've found you,"

"What is it?"

"You're looking for Golden, aren't you?"

"Yeah, right! Golden's just over-"

Kojiro looked at the place where Michiru and Wilhelmina once were. Nobody was there anymore.

"Meh, left without a word," He grunted.

"You wouldn't notice he was there unless he was right in front of you. That's his power. He's one hard fella to detect," Arken said.

"Yeah, I know about that. Kuvestar told me. Flame of Everlasting, he is," Kojiro mumbled.

"Kuvestar… That sounds familiar…"

"Meh, he's the Robber of Spells, alright,"

"Oh, him. The Mystes who gains abilities of a unit by touching it,"

"Hah! You know him! You know about Golden too!"

Arken looked around before saying, "This skill, I believe, is Utsugi's?"

"Kuvestar got the skill from him recently,"

"And did Kuvestar kill him?"

"He sure did,"

"So tell me about this time-stopping thing,"

"Isn't this almost the same as the Fuzetsu?"

"Great. Your boss is using this skill and you don't know what it does? I'll tell you alright. This skill… It's not really time-stopping, anyway. Time is still moving even as we speak. Only that we're in some sort of a void that was separated from the living,"

"Err…"

"Okay, for example. Your friend Ryosuke came here and made a hole on this gym. Which means, I their world, there is a logical sense of way on how this hole appeared,"

"Like a bomb fell or something?"

"Maybe,"

"Or maybe the wind blows?"

"Don't ask pointless questions,"

"Fine…"

"I'm talking this girl to rest. If you meet Kuvestar, tell him to clear this time-stopping thing,"

"Roger. I'm off. See you next time, Arken,"

Kojiro leaped out of the hole Ryosuke made.

"Give me directions, girl," Arken said to Elise, who was still carried by him. "Anywhere I can take you to get some rest?"

"Infirmary…" Elise answered weakly, not having much strength to talk, "It's… at… urrrhhh… uuurrrhhh…."

"Alright… alright… I'll find it myself," Arken mumbled, "What a pain…"

"Yu…ji…" Shana moaned weakly, her eyes opening slowly.

"Shana!" Yuji said happily, "Shana, you're awake!"

Shana gave a smile.

"What… happened, Yuji…?"

"Ryosuke…"

"Oh…"

Shana tried to get up, but Yuji refused to let her do so.

"Shana, your injuries will worsen…"

"Damn it… I lost… again…"

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you…"

"It's okay… You couldn't…"

"Hey, you!" A voice suddenly rang behind them, making Yuji jump. He turned around. Arken Varles was behind him, holding a girl which he noticed that was the girl who came into the infirmary just now.

"Huh?"

"You're the Reiji Maigo, not?"

"Ummm…" Yuji answered, "Yes,"

"Alright, then. I'm leaving this girl to you. I think she'll go away after she's better. You just make sure nothing major happens to her,"

Arken put Elise on the bed next to the one Shana was lying down. Then he looked around. Yuji suddenly felt that the ambience was different.

"Don't tell me Kojiro's such a good boy…" Arken said to himself, "The time's really resumed,"

Before Yuji could make head or tail about what Arken was saying, the latter activated the Fuzetsu.

"Right. Restore the gym hole," Arken said, "Since when have I started doing charity?"

Arken was about to leave the room when Yuji chased after him.

"What?"

"May I ask something?"

"Yes, but don't ask pointless questions,"

"Alright. You said something about time being resumed,"

"And you're thinking that I know something about this?"

"Yes. Can you tell me what it was all about?"

"I don't wanna waste time, but I guess there's no harm in telling you,"

Michiru finished cleaning the house. It looked as good as new. He had a busy day today. He had helped Wilhelmina clean Yuji's house moments ago. Now he was cleaning the house of a girl named Hirai Yukari who does not exist anymore.

Suddenly, his phone rang. He picked up his phone and saw the caller.

"Wassup?" He answered the call.

"Where're you now?" Yuji asked.

"I was about to ask the same thing. I'm at err… Shana-chan's house? Or should I say Yukari Hirai's?"

"Why are you there, anyway?"

"Long story. Oh, how's Shana-chan?"

Yuji's sigh came.

"She lost. She fell unconscious just now but she's awake currently. And… is Carmel-san with you?"

"Yeah, Wilhelmina's with me. I think she's still asleep. I was cleaning the house,"

"You… what?"

"What's wrong?"

"No, nothing. Anyways, I have something to say to you,"

"What is it?"

"Time's resumed,"

Michiru looked at his watch. Nearly two hours had passed since the time when it was last stopped, in the gym.

"You're right…"

"I also met this person. His said his name is Arken Varles. And he told me about this time-stopping thing,"

"Intriguing,"

Yuji then explained what Arken told him to Michiru.

"So what happened to you and Shana?"

"You know. Ryosuke attacked her and…"

"No, I mean what happened in the real realm,"

"Oh. It seemed that Shana injured herself after being hit by a ball,"

"Hold on! How can a ball deal so much damage!"

"Beats me. And it seemed that a kohai spotted you skipping class and leaving the school. The principal was informed about this,"

"Dang… This is one hell of a skill, huh? Better than the Fuzetsu. So… how're you gonna explain the hole?"

"How did you know about the…?"

"I went back to school, alright? That's where Wilhelmina got hurt. Kojiro beat her up,"

"Oh, no... She's alright now, isn't she?"

"Yeah,"

"If that's the case, I reckon that you should come back to school. You just played truant, y'know,"

"Nah. Let it be, then. I have better things to do,"

"What?"

"So long, then. If you don't see me at your place after school, I'm probably where I am now,"

Michiru hung up. He headed towards Wilhelmina's room, surprised to find her awake

"You're up…" Michiru said.

"Unngghh…" Wilhelmina moaned, clutching her stomach as she tried to get out of bed. It still hurt.

"Here…" Michiru said, helping Wilhelmina to get into a sitting position. "Lemme help you,"

"Sorry…" Wilhelmina moaned.

"For what?"

"I was… weak…"

"No, no, you're not. Don't apologize. You're not weak. You just lack the confidence. You lack the confidence to beat him, that's all. You just need to conquer it, and you'll be fine,"

Even as Michiru comforted her, Wilhelmina still looked apologetic.

"I bet you're hungry now. I don't think you had anything this morning. I made you something. Hold on, I'll go get it,"

Michiru exited the room and appeared seconds later, a bowl of porridge in his hands.

"Here. I made this just now," Michiru said, sitting beside her on the bed. He scooped a spoonful of porridge and blew it, "I'll feed you. Eat it while it's hot,"

Wilhelmina shook her head slightly, but Michiru merely smiled.

"I know you're not having any appetite, but you're hungry. You have to eat something,"

Wilhelmina still refused to open her mouth even as Michiru moved the spoon towards it.

"Just a little, alright? I spent some time making this porridge. I just hope it doesn't taste so bad,"

Wilhelmina finally opened her mouth obediently. Michiru fed her a spoonful. Then he smiled.

"Good girl," He laughed.

Michiru also noticed that there was porridge on her mouth. He pulled out his handkerchief and wiped it off.

"Let's finish this, alright?" He smiled again.

"Teach me how to cook," Wilhelmina requested.

"Sure. I promise. When you get better I'll teach you. I'm not really such a good cook myself, but I think I can spare a few tips," Michiru said, his mind dead set on concentrating hard during Home Economics class. "But first, finish this up,"

Wilhelmina nodded.

"Thank you," She said.

"I'll do anything you want," Michiru replied, putting the bowl of porridge on the table beside the bed and squeezing her hand once again, "Anything. I will protect you, Wilhelmina. I will protect you no matter what. I won't let you get hurt anymore. You're safe as long as I'm there. I swear, Wilhelmina. I swear,"


	14. Summer Break Begins!

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana

Chapter 14 – Summer Break Begins!

"YEAH! SUMMER TIME!" Keisaku Satou shouted, punching his arm in the air. He had just finished packing his stuff into his bag. It was Lunchtime and half of the students were in class. "Woohoo! School ends today! I mean… by the end of the day… Err… Today… GARH! Who cares!"

"Satou-kun, you're so happy that you made so many mistakes," Matake Ogata giggled.

"Like I said, who cares?" Keisaku replied happily. "Don't tell me you're not happy that the holidays are finally here? No school! Total freedom!"

"Satou-kun… You really enjoy not going to school, huh? School's pretty fun…"

"Oh-ho, I bet it's 'fun' now that we've got a chic magnet in our class,"

"You sound jealous…"

"You bet. I wonder how Akenabe does that?"

"Hmmm… Maybe he's got the charm,"

"Awww… Ogata-san, don't tell me you're falling for him, too,"

"Well, I think he's pretty cool, but he's not my type,"

"Oh, thank God!"

"What?"

"Nothing,"

"Hey," Came a voice.

"Oh, yo, Sakai, " Keisaku said, "Summer break begins tomorrow. Cool, huh? No school!"

"Yeah. I hope we're gonna do something fun like last time," Yuji said.

"We're gonna have some activities during summer break then? Sweet! I was actually hoping for one," Another voice came. Yuji, Keisaku and Matake turned around to see who was talking. Eita Tanaka was walking towards them.

"Oh… Hi, Tanaka," Yuji said.

"So… what're we gonna play this time round?" Eita said enthusiastically, "Maybe we should do the swimming thing again and make the girls wear swimsuits!"

"That wouldn't really be possible," Someone said quietly behind them, and they all jumped.

"Akenabe-kun!" Matake mumbled, irritated, "Don't sneak up behind us! It's rude!"

"H-H-Hold on!" Michiru stammered, "I didn't sneak, alright?"

"Yeah, Akenabe, don't scare her, alright? It's creepy to appear suddenly and-" Keisaku began.

"W-Wait, I didn't…!" Michiru retorted.

"You know what, Akenabe, I just realized something," Eita said, "Sometimes you were just there around me, but I can't seem to be able to notice that you're there unless you're talking…"

"Yeah, right…." Kaeisaku said carelessly, "Like Akenabe's got special powers or someth- Wait a minute! Maybe he has! Hey, Eita, can you could he be a Flame-?"

"SHHHH!" Eita shushed angrily. Matake was looking at them as if they were from the asylum. Keisaku simply had to keep his mouth shut.

"Oops…" Keisaku said sheepishly.

In order to distract Matake, Eita decided to change the topic.

"So… where were we again?" He began.

"Errr… we're in class, dude…" Michiru joked.

"Not funny," Keisaku said truthfully.

"Oh, well…" Michiru shrugged.

At the meantime, Yuji was thinking. Even normal people may sense that Michiru is a little different. Not only Eita, but even Yuji himself felt that he would not really know about Michiru's presence unless he called his name. What if the normal people find out something weird about Michiru?

"Umm… Sakai-kun…" a shy voice said while Yuji was deep in thought.

Yuji, still having his mind distracted, could not hear the voice, not even Matake came towards him and waved her arms in front of his eyes.

"OI, YUJI!" Michiru shouted.

"Garh!" Yuji jumped. "Michiru, don't… Oh, Yoshida-san…"

"Finally noticed she's there, huh? What were you thinking about? Your spirit seems to be away," Michiru said.

"Hmmm… I bet he's thinking about last summer's event! You know, the swimsuit girls…" Eita chuckled.

"Ummm… Sakai-kun…" Kazumi Yoshida said quietly.

"What is it, Yoshida-san?" Yuji asked kindly.

"Sakai-kun… I… made this…" Kazumi said, still feeling shy, "Would you… like to try it?"

"Oh," Yuji said, noticing the bento in her hand, "Yeah. Sure, Yoshida-san,"

"Awww…" Eita said playfully, "Sakai's got an admirer…"

Yuji took the bento from Kazumi and headed towards his table to eat.

"Oh yeah," Keisaku said, "Akenabe hasn't even received a bento from a girl yet, right?"

"Gosh, Keisaku you're right!" Eita said, and then turned towards Michiru, "See? Even Sakai has received a bento from a girl! Don't tell me you haven't! You know how those girls are always trying to take a second look at you wherever you pass by!"

"Don't be jealous, dude," Michiru said, unable to resist smiling, "I'm sure you'll get a bento from your Ogata-san soon,"

"Hmmm… Ogata-san, how 'bout you make me a tasty bento?" Eita chuckled.

"Huh? I don't know how to!" Matake said.

"Geez," Eita said, "Forget about me, then. Akenabe, you're sure you haven't received a bento from a girl?"

"Yup. My memories are fresh," Michiru replied, then added, "But I'm sure I'll get a tasty one soon,", thinking about the promise he made to Wilhelmina.

"Wow. Akenabe is not only a stealth assassin, but a psychic too!" Keisaku cut in.

"S-Sakai-kun… how does it taste?" Kazumi's squeaky voice traveled towards them and they turned.

"Hmmm… not bad, Yoshida-san, keep it up," Yuji said truthfully. Shana suddenly crossed his mind. Good thing she was not in school today. Both she and Wilhelmina are resting at Yukari's house, because Wilhelmina did not want to move much, and Michiru had also cleaned up the place.

"Awww… Yoshida-san didn't make any for us…" Eita spoke loudly in a pity voice on purpose, "Not fair! Sakai is the only one she cares about!"

Keisaku giggled. Matake looked cross. Michiru smacked him on the head. Yuji and Kazumi blushed.

"Oh well, since we don't have any bento we should go downstairs and buy something," Keisaku conceded.

"Yeah, Akenabe, care to come with us? Our school's got pretty yummy melon buns," Eita said.

"Nah," Michiru smiled, "I'm not hungry and I never will,"

Keisaku raised an eyebrow while Yuji turned around almost instantly.

"Literally…" Michiru quickly added.

"Right, Eita, let's go," Keisaku said and Eita followed him out of the classroom.

Michiru and Matake stood there saying nothing, then a few seconds later Matake shouted at the door, "Wait for me! Hey!" and she ran off too.

In the end, Yuji, Michiru, Kazumi and three classmates were the one left in class.

"Great. I didn't know lunchtime on the day before Summer Break is this boring," Michiru grunted.

"You might wanna go to the field and organize a baseball game," Yuji said idly.

"Hmmm… you're right," Michiru replied, "I think I should!"

"H-Hold on…!" Yuji shouted as Michiru slid the classroom door open. Michiru suddenly noticed a girl standing in front of him. The girl was also holding a bento. At first, Michiru thought she was searching for an elderly sibling in this class, but then she said, "U-ummm… Akenabe-senpai?"

"Huh?" Michiru was taken aback.

"Umm… b-bento…" The girl squeaked, handing out the bento to Michiru but her head was looking downwards. Maybe she was too shy to look at him.

Michiru took the bento from her and said, "I'll take it, thanks,"

The girl bowed shyly and left. Michiru was about to close the door when he realized he did not know the girl's name, and he wanted to know.

"Hey, wait!" Michiru shouted and followed after her. The girl stopped, her back facing Michiru. He walked closer to her and asked, "What is your name?"

"Ai Takasu," The girl squeaked.

"I see," Michiru replied, "Can you show me your face?"

"Huh?" Ai squeaked shyly, blushing.

"I want to see your face," Michiru said firmly.

Ai finally turned around. Michiru looked at her face for three seconds before saying, "You're pretty cute, Ai-chan. Oh, and… can you wait for me by the gate after school?"

"Huh?" Ai squeaked again.

"In case you didn't hear it properly, I was asking if you could wait for me by the gate after school," Michiru repeated.

"Oh…" Ai said, "Y-Yeah. Okay…"

"It's settled, then. If I'm early I'll wait for you," Michiru said and went back to his classroom.

The moment he entered the classroom, Yuji noticed the bento on his hand. Yuji had finished up his bento and was cleaning his table.

"Whoa," He said.

"Don't 'whoa' at me, okay? You just had one AND remember this, dude - you don't even have to eat!" Michiru said carelessly.

"Oi…" Yuji whispered, lifting his eyebrow.

"Oops," Michiru said. Although he was not looking at Kazumi he knew she was looking at him. He really had said too much.

Just then, Matake, Eita and Keisaku entered the class. The first thing that Keisaku noticed was the bento on Michiru's hand.

"Wow! You really are psychic!" He shouted happily, as if he was the one who received the bento.

"Are you dumb or what?" Matake said, "He prepared one all along! You think we're kids or something?" she added, turning to Michiru.

"Ummm…" Kazumi cut in, "A girl really gave it to him. I saw it,"

"Me too," Yuji added.

"You all are in cahoots! I know it!" Matake retorted.

"Alright… alright… don't go making a fuss, alright?" Eita said to Matake.

Michiru took out a watch from his pocket and said, "We've not much time left, lunchtime is almost over,"

"Yeah, we've eight minutes left," Keisaku said, "Better finish up everything and clean up the class,"

….

"YEAH! OVER! IT'S OVER!" Keisaku shouted like a madman after the school bell rang, jumping around and punching his arm at random. "NO MORE SCHOOL! JUST FUN!"

"Satou-kun…" Matake sighed.

"So, now we gotta do some planning!" Keisaku said happily, "So… for summer, what's the best thing to do?"

"Swimming," Michiru gave a suggestion.

"But we've done that last time," Eita said, "We should do something else…"

Matake suddenly pulled out a few leaflets from her bag and shoved it to the guys, Keisaku, Eita, Yuji and Michiru. And a girl. Kazumi Yoshida,"

"Hmmm? What's this?" Eita asked after receiving the leaflet.

"Just read…" Matake said in a tone as if saying 'duh'.

"Horror House?" Michiru said upon reading the large words printed on top.

"Yeah," Matake said proudly, "Nice, huh? I'm sure this could bring us the fun!"

"What the heck?" Keisaku cut in, "I thought summer time is for sunbathing? Anyways why are they having some kind of spooky thing during summer? I thought it's for Halloween?"

"Ummm... They can organize anything anytime…" Kazumi said quietly.

"Anyways," Matake said loudly, "They're having a discount for tomorrow, and ONLY tomorrow, so I think tomorrow's the day we should go,"

"So we'll meet outside the entrance?" Yuji asked.

"Yeah. And nobody is to go in unless all of us are there!" Matake said firmly. "And you may invite Yukari-chan to go, Sakai-kun,"

Kazumi Yoshida looked sour, but just then…

"OH CRAP!" Michiru suddenly shouted. All of them jumped.

"Akenabe-kun!" Matake murmured angrily, "Stop scaring us!"

"What's wrong?" Yuji asked.

"Speaking about meeting at the entrance, I'm late for someone!" Michiru said. He quickly grabbed his bag and left without saying goodbye.

"Sheesh…" Eita said. "Where the hell could he be going?"

"I think he's going to meet… a girl…" Yuji said, remembering about the girl who gave Michiru her bento. Michiru must have asked her out.

….

Michiru ran as fast as he could. He was definitely late. Maybe Ai would have left.

"Crap," He thought to himself, "Just great, making someone wait like that…"

He ran out to the school compounds and suddenly spotted the girl he was about to meet by the gate.

"Ai-chan!" He shouted, running towards her.

"S-Senpai…" Ai squeaked shyly, looking at the floor once again.

"Good thing you're still here," Michiru said, relieved, "I thought you had left. Sorry I'm late,"

"It's… okay…" Ai said.

"Thanks for waiting, Ai-chan," Michiru finally said what he wanted to say, "Can you take me to your house?"


	15. The Blood Link

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana

Chapter 15 – The Blood Link

….

"Huh?" Ai was shocked. Her face turned from beige to pink instantly.

"What's the matter?" Michiru asked.

"I… I…" Ai stammered.

"You're not hiding anything in your house, right?"

"N-No…"

"Then there's no reason not to let me take a look,"

"But…"

"No buts,"

Michiru smiled as Ai continued to look shy. He quickly grabbed her hand and said, "Let's go,"

Ai's whole face was red. She had no choice but to bring Michiru to her house. Michiru was actually enjoying making Ai look shy. Ai tried to wrench her hand away, but Michiru seemed to clutch it tight.

"Are you feeling shameful?" Michiru asked suddenly when Ai led the way.

"N-No…"

"Good, because from the looks of things, you seem pretty embarrassed,"

Ai said nothing, so Michiru kept quiet, and then he asked again.

"How many people are there in your family?"

"Four. Err… three… Dad left us many years ago, so now there's only Mom, Brother and I,"

"And I guess that your brother is an elder one?"

"Yes. He's two years older than me,"

"I see. Can you tell me more about your brother?"

"My brother… He's… kinda like looks like a yakuza, so he always acts like one…"

"Is that it? He's acting gangster because he looks like one?"

"Well… back then when he was still young he always got bullied… by girls…"

Michiru chuckled.

"So that's why…"

"What?"

"Nothing, so where is your Mom now? Work?"

"Yeah,"

"And your brother?"

"He… seldom comes home lately…"

"Huh? Why?"

"I don't know…"

"And he doesn't even go to school?"

"He flunked out when he was in first year and never went to another school since,"

"You mean he was expelled?"

"The Principal said he called up some gang members to beat up a student in school, but-"

"You believe your brother, and he has not done anything of that sort,"

"Yes, but the headmaster refused to let Brother explain and expelled him straight…"

"Because he looked like the type to do so?"

"And he also had a grudge with that student, he told me,"

"That… is very unlucky…"

They continued to walk and Michiru already let go of Ai's hand when he spoke again.

"Do you know where your brother is now?"

"I really don't know…"

"So… does your brother love you?"

"Yeah, he may look like an unfilial son, but he actually really loves Mom and me,"

"And he still left home?"

"Well… Brother has been acting recently,"

"Like…?"

"Like… Saying weird things…"

"About leaving you forever or something like that? Asking you to take care of Mom well, maybe?"

Ai's eyes turned wide and looked as if she had seen a ghost.

"How did you…?"

Michiru smiled.

"I know your brother, you see? Thanks for telling me all this. Oh, may I know if we're nearly there yet?"

Ai stopped abruptly.

"Errr… Senpai… We're here already…" Ai said.

"This is Takasu Residence, then?" Michiru asked.

Ai nodded.

"Sweet," Michiru whispered, "Your house looked pretty plain for a cute girl like you,"

Ai blushed again while Michiru took the liberty and entered the house. Ai followed suit without saying anything.

"So…" Michiru began after he and Ai had entered the house. "May I know where your brother's room is?"

"My… brother…?" Ai asked, feeling a little bit of an airhead. Michiru came to her house just to look for her brother?

"Yes, and… oh, yeah…" Michiru said, and then took out a leaflet, showing it to his kohai.

"What's this?" Ai asked upon receiving it.

"A leaflet," Michiru answered jokingly.

"Horror House?"

"Yup, if you can, meet me outside the entrance tomorrow, okay? So, where is your brother's room?"

"It's upstairs. There's a sign on it with his name, but it's locked anyway,"

"Why did you lock it? You think I'm gonna steal something or…?"

"No, brother locked it himself, AND he changed the lock,"

"For what?"

"Beats me…"

"Oh, well… might as well take a look…"

Michiru ran upstairs so quickly that before Ai could react, he was already in Kojiro's so-called locked room. A few moments later, he came out and asked Ai to give him her brother's phone number, as well as hers. Ai, being a good girl, did as she was told, but also stating that her brother never picks up his phone, so Ai and her mother did not know about his whereabouts. Michiru, meanwhile, stored the contacts.

"Well, that's it, then," Michiru smiled, "See you tomorrow!"

And then he left, leaving Ai alone. She thought Michiru was to go on a date with her, but the reason he came to her house was to find out about her brother? She felt a little disappointed, but after looking at the leaflet she smiled and her spirits lifted. So Michiru was going on a date with her after all!

…..

Michiru went to Yuji's house, but there was nobody. Thus, he decided to go to Yukari Hirai's place and take a look. Fortunately, Yuji was there to open the door when he called, as the door was locked.

"Where have you been?" The very first moment Michiru entered, the words escaped from Yuji's mouth.

"Ai-chan's house," Michiru answered truthfully and proudly, "I asked her to come with us tomorrow. Is Shana-chan coming with us?"

"Shana wanted to know if you're going too, because if all of us went, there would be nobody to look after Carmel-san," Yuji explained.

"Didn't you tell her I'm going?"

"You didn't even tell me you were going! I wasn't even sure myself!"

"But then again, I guess she wanted to go too, huh? Oh, wait… Yoshida-san is going too, eh?" Michiru said and laughed, lifting an eyebrow, "So how's the bento? You didn't share it with me,"

"You didn't share yours too,"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I forgot I had one too,"

Yuji sighed. Is Michiru this forgetful or was he pretending?

"C'mon, let's go ask Shana-chan whether she's going or not," Michiru said enthusiastically.

"You really invited Ai-chan?" Yuji quickly said before Michiru could disappear into the living room.

"You'll know if you meet her tomorrow,"

Michiru entered the living room and was not surprised to find Shana there.

"I'm going tomorrow and Ai-chan is tagging along too,"

Shana had no interest as to who Ai-chan was, but it seemed that Michiru had found himself a girl. However, with his current charm, it was not an impossible thing.

"So…" Michiru continued, "Are you going?"

"Wilhelmina would be alone…" Shana answered, "I have to take care of her,"

"She's alright now, right? I mean she looks better already,"

"How would you know if you haven't even seen her?"

"I know you want to go, Shana-chan. Nothing's going to happen to Wilhelmina, anyway. It's only a few hours. Wilhelmina can take care of herself,"

Shana glanced at Michiru. Yuji started to feel something weird about the latter. Michiru was always worrying about her, but now he seemed like he no longer cared about her. And yet, Michiru seemed to be forcing Shana to go to the Horror House, but why? Did Michiru have something up his sleeve?

"The more the merrier, right? I mean there's not much fun if someone's absent,"

Shana continued to eye Michiru as if the latter had been possessed. Something was definitely wrong about him, but in the end she still conceded.

"Alright. We'll go together tomorrow,"

"Ha, it's settled, then!"

Michiru was all grin and smiles when he headed to the kitchen. He poured a glass of water and brought it into Wilhelmina's room. Wilhelmina was lying on her bed, her eyes were closed at first, but when Michiru entered her eyes snapped open. Michiru smiled and sat beside her. He touched her forehead.

"Are you feeling better now?" He asked.

Wilhelmina nodded.

"Well, you sure look better," Michiru continued, removing his hand from her forehead, "You just need a little more rest, and then you'll be fine,"

He helped her into a sitting position before giving her the glass of water.

"Here, drink some water, your lips look dry. Shana-chan didn't pour any water for you?"

The door suddenly sprang open and Shana came in, as if she had been eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Are you insisting on going?" Shana asked crossly.

"I already asked Ai-chan to come with me, there's no way I'm going to go back on my word!" Michiru said as-a-matter-of-factly. "Forget about me… Are you going?"

Wilhelmina suddenly felt sour. Ai-chan? A girl? She wanted to ask, but at the same time, wanted to avoid misunderstandings. Thus, she decided to keep quiet and let Michiru and Shana finish their conversation.

"I guess you're right, Michiru-kun, I wanted to go, too,"

"I bet you're excited about this,"

"…Yeah… But… Wilhelmina…"

"Like I said, she'll be fine on her own. It's only a couple of hours, and then we'll be back. We're supposed to have fun during summer!"

Shana was silent. Michiru was definitely acting weird. Wilhelmina felt so too, but none of them pointed it out. Michiru turned towards Wilhelmina and told her to take care before exiting the room.

"Three of us are going," Michiru told Yuji the very first moment he saw him.

"Wanna go back?" Yuji asked.

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna sleep early today. I don't wanna oversleep,"

"The event isn't starting until ten,"

"I know, but I wanna take Ai-chan to a place before this thing starts, so I'm gonna go first tomorrow. You don't have to follow me,"

"Err… I don't plan to, now that you've found yourself a girl…"

"So, who are you going to choose?"

"What?"

"You know… Shana-chan and Yoshida-san. You have to pick one, remember?"

Yuji sighed.

"I know it's hard, dude. They both treat you so well…"

"How 'bout you?"

"Me?"

"Carmel-san and Ai-chan. Who would you choose?"

Michiru threw him a dirty look.

"Since when have I been together with Wilhelmina?"

Yuji was taken aback by the last comment. He felt as if Michiru no longer cared about Wilhelmina. Michiru walked faster and faster as he took out his phone to text, probably to his newly found girl named Ai Takasu. When Yuji got home, Michiru was already in his room, planning a big surprise, not only for Ai, not only for her brother, but everyone.

Everyone with the power to travel inside the Fuzetsu, or the new time void transfer skill Kuvestar unlocked from a Flame Haze named Utsugi, that is.


	16. Existence Wipeout

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana

Chapter 16 – Existence Wipeout

…

It was only eight o'clock in the morning when Michiru Akenabe already got out of bed, fully dressed. He hummed happily as he walked towards the door and when he saw Wilhelmina waiting by the door, his face dropped.

"Why are you up so early?" He asked, walking towards her, as if trying to be friendly.

However, Wilhelmina avoided that question, as she had her own one.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"Wh-Why are you asking this?" Michiru stammered, looking around as he answered, as if trying to see someone who can teach him a method of escaping Wilhelmina's questions.

"Tell me," Wilhelmina said.

"Well… I told you yesterday I'm going out, right? Are you really okay being out of bed? Shouldn't you get some more rest first?" Michiru replied quickly.

"Where are you going?" Wilhelmina repeated. A firm expression was seen on her face; her tone also changed.

"To the Horror House, alright? There's an event held there," Michiru sighed and conceded.

"Why are you going so early when it is not starting until later?" Wilhelmina continued to ask.

Michiru was starting to feel irritated. Wilhelmina seemed to be bombarding him with questions like an overprotective mother would do to her son.

"To meet someone. Are you done yet? I'm running late!" Michiru said, feeling restless.

"Who are you meeting?" Wilhelmina did not stop asking, and that was the last straw for Michiru. He walked towards her, closer and made it look as if he was about to whisper in her ear, but suddenly… Michiru punched her in the stomach

"Nnnngghh!" Wilhelmina moaned and flinched. Her legs suddenly went weak and she knelt on the floor, her hands clutching her belly. She was shaking madly when she tried her best to lift her head and look up, but Michiru was already gone.

Wilhelmina felt very angry for being careless and letting her guard down, as she would never dream that Michiru would actually attack her. She tried her best to stand up, but it was impossible. Kojiro already caused her a tremendous wound, and Michiru damaged it even worse. However, nothing stood against Wilhelmina's will of finding out the truth. She leaned against the wall when she managed to get up. She quickly opened the door, enduring the pain, hoping to catch up. With sheer luck, she managed to spot a silhouette which looked familiar and quickly rushed after it.

Lady Luck seemed to be smiling at Wilhelmina, for she managed to keep Michiru within distance when she tailed him. Suddenly, Michiru stopped. Wilhelmina quickly hid behind a tree nearby, in case Michiru suddenly turned around. The Mystes with a golden flame sure acted weirdly on many occasions since yesterday, and Wilhelmina wanted to find out the truth behind all this.

Wilhelmina took a slight peek. She could see Michiru knocking on the door of somebody's house. A few moments later, someone came and opened the door. Wilhelmina felt resentful the moment she saw who opened the door for him.

"Ai-chan," Michiru whispered so softly that Wilhelmina had to move her head in front to make out what Michiru was saying. "Your Mom's not at home, right?"

"N-No…" Ai, blushing, replied. "There's no one home…"

"Okay, then," Michiru said, grabbing hold of Ai's arm. "Let's head in,"

Wilhelmina was clutching her fists so hard that her nails made cuts on her palm accidentally. _So this is his Ai-chan… _Wilhelmina thought bitterly. She half-wished that she had not been here and found out more about Michiru. Now that Michiru is dating a girl, she felt sour.

But why? Wilhelmina found herself asking the question to herself. Why was she jealous that Michiru was being intimate with a girl? Michiru had this charm around him. He had his own trademark style when wearing, a coat on the outside, not buttoning up. The way he usually walks, putting his hands in his pockets and bending his knees a little, also added to his charm. Furthermore, Michiru had a cool spiky hairstyle and above average looks, it would be normal for him to get into a relationship easier than anyone else. Yet, that did not improve Wilhelmina's feelings.

Then, quite suddenly, Wilhelmina realized something. Nobody was at home. Just Michiru and Ai. What else could possibly happen?

Wilhelmina rushed into the house, her mind filled with jealousy and hatred. She was determined to give Michiru one million slaps to the face and make him beg for mercy. Somehow, she felt so betrayed. She felt like crying, and the feeling grew stronger and stronger as she ran, but she resisted the urge to do so. Michiru was so going to meet his maker!

Just then, when she reached for the door, she noticed someone from the corner of her eye. The person was running very fast and heading towards her direction. She turned. And gasped.

Wilhelmina's arch enemy, Kojiro Takasu, was heading this way. Kojiro seemed to have spotted her, like a policeman or a security guard running towards the guilty. Wilhelmina quickly ran back to the tree she hid just now, hoping that Kojiro did not see her.

For a certain reason, Wilhelmina was scared of Kojiro. The latter had beaten her flat twice, with only one punch, and gave her a lot of humiliation during the processes. Furthermore, her belly was hurting. Michiru did not go easy on her, and if Kojiro punched it again, the most likely thing to happen to her is that she would vomit out all her organs and blood and then die. Which, of course, nobody would want to.

Wilhelmina peeked again. She saw Kojiro knocking the door of Ai Takasu's house. Good gracious, lucky Wilhelmina! Kojiro did not spot her afterall! Come to think of it, Kojiro looked like he was in a real hurry.

"AI! AI OPEN THE DOOR! AI!" Kojiro shouted at the door.

The door finally opened.

"Ai…" Kojiro began.

"I don't think she can hear you…" A quiet, calm and cool voice said. Wilhelmina could not believe her eyes and ears. The person who spoke the words was carrying an unconscious Ai, a knife on his hand, pointing at her throat. He had a sinister look on his face and was smiling oddly at Kojiro, who panicked.

"Mi…chi..ru…?" Wilhelmina whispered to herself. This could not be Michiru! Never! The Michiru she knew was not like this! This Michiru was about to commit murder in broad daylight! Or was it? And for what?

"It is him," Tiamat whispered.

"Ai! Let her go!" Kojiro shouted.

"What's the matter?" Michiru mocked, "Why are you acting like this? You look so much like a sissy!"

"Shut up and let go of my sister!" Kojiro shouted again.

_Kojiro's sister?_ Wilhelmina thought. She was still hiding behind the tree and feeling the tension. _So Michiru was with his sister?_

"Sorry, dude. You're in no position for me to take orders,"

Kojiro stepped in front. Michiru glared.

"One more step, she'll join you,"

"What do you want?"

Michiru gave a sinister chuckle.

"Share your hobbies with you!"

"What?"

"Sadism for the win, Kojiro Takasu!"

Michiru gave Ai a punch to the stomach and she vomited blood.

"Was that hot? Does that make your below go hard? (sorry for the issues) On a scale of one to ten, please give me a rating!"

Kojiro stepped in front.

"You bastard!"

Another belly punch. More blood came out.

"AI! Kojiro screamed.

"I warned you. One step, one punch," Michiru said calmly.

"Just let go of her…" Kojiro said sadly.

"I thought you would enjoy this. You so enjoyed beating up my Wilhelmina that you seem to crave for more! You did it twice, didn't you? Her rolling on the floor, clutching her belly, the ass up, the moans, the screams, the cries, the urge to stop the tears from falling… Trying to stay conscious for one more second, trying to bear the unbearable pain… Wasn't that what you want to see?"

Wilhelmina started to have those weird feelings again. This time, it was a mixture of confusion and touched. _My Wilhelmina?_

"So I thought that you might like it… That's why I want to do it on your sister, I like it too," Michiru continued to mock.

"Stop it…"

"Why? Why stop? We both love it…"

"I SAID STOP!"

Michiru smiled.

"I see… you're showing feelings…"

"What?"

"It hurts, doesn't it? Seeing your sister… getting beaten up like that… Does it pain your heart? Oh, wait… you don't have one…"

Kojiro clenched his fists.

"Angry?" Michiru provoked, "Want revenge?"

Kojiro's eyes looked as if they were about to pop out. The way he stared at Michiru, filled with hatred, is enough to terrify the life out of anyone.

Not for Michiru.

"So now you know how I feel. The way you beat my Wilhelmina up… The way you enjoy seeing her in a Ryona state… You beat her up, out of mere selfishness. You beat her just because you like it… Does that… seem right?"

Kojiro opened his mouth in shock. His fists were no longer clenched and he no longer gave Michiru the look that he wanted to eat him alive.

"But then again, what hentai do you like to watch the most?" Michiru asked.

"Shakugan no Shana!" Kojiro replied happily.

(Ryosuke: Dude, we're not running commercials here! And hentai is not good for the mind and soul so don't mind Michiru typing his stupid crap!)

Kojiro opened his mouth in shock. His fists were no longer clenched and he no longer gave Michiru the look that he wanted to eat him alive.

"But then again, your knowledge of Ryona may not be as high as mine," Michiru said coolly, starting to smile sinisterly again.

"What?"

Michiru winked and said, "Ryona Time!"

Michiru clenched the knife which he was holding all along even tighter. Then, he began to slash and stab almost every part of Ai. Wilhelmina could not help gasping. Kojiro screamed and shouted as blood spilled everywhere.

Michiru laughed hard when he was done.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THIS is Ryona, dude!"

He threw Ai's body at Kojiro and he caught her.

"Ai…" Kojiro said in a croaky voice.

"Don't believe what you see…" Michiru began.

"YYYYYOOOOOUUUUU!" Kojiro shouted. Next moment, the Fuzetsu was activated. Kojiro ripped off his noticed that sharp nails were growing. His eyes turned bloody red. He stood hunching. He was, waving his claws around madly. Hunching, he was also eyeing Michiru like a beast would do so, giving roars.

"You are aware that doing so takes up a lot of energy, and you don't have much time left. You said so in your diary. I got it from your room," Michiru said.

"Ai's dead. No reason for me to live anymore," Kojiro said in a creepy voice, "I'll go down with you if I must, Golden,"

Michiru merely chuckled.

"Don't believe what you see, you hear me?"

"GGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRHHHHHHH!"

"What's the matter, beast? Angry that I've read your diary? You do have a knack for humiliating people, but what I don't like about is that my Wilhelmina seems to be your prey,"

"I will destroy you, Golden…" Kojiro croaked.

"You want to destroy the Flame of Everlasting?" Michiru glared and smiled, "Be my guest. Try it,"

Kojiro looked at the sky and gave a load lion-ish roar. One second later he was charging at Michiru. Wilhelmina conjured up some ribbons. She wanted to give Michiru his aid, but the latter seemed as cool as a cucumber, smiling even when the claws were just centimeters away, and Wilhelmina suddenly wanted to know how Michiru would react. Did he manage to find a way to activate Golden? Or did he have a way to defeat Kojiro?

"DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!" Kojiro shouted, his claw coming down for the slash. Wilhelmina gasped. She realized Michiru did not have the power to beat Kojiro; he was merely acting cool and provoking him. It was too late. She wished she attacked earlier. Her ribbons would not reach there in time, and even if they did, the distance between Kojiro and his enemy would make Michiru the victim of her blasts!

"Goodbye," Michiru whispered, sinister still written on his face.

Kojiro's claw was just 0.0000000000000000000001 nanometers away from (Ryosuke: That's illogical…) when he suddenly disappeared. Going into Beast Form must have made him use the Flame's power even more, and the power was gone before he could use his attack on Michiru.

Michiru stood on the same spot for a few seconds, looking at Ai. Then, quite suddenly, the Fuzetsu disappeared, and Ai stood up, as if nothing had happened. Wilhelmina nearly gasped out loud.

"Kojiro Takasu," Michiru was already saying before Ai got up, "Does that name sound familiar to you?"

"Who?" Ai asked in a squeaky voice.

"Kojiro Takasu,"

"No… Is he my cousin or-?"

"No, never mind then. Go wash the ketchup off, alright? Oh… and this toy knife. I'm returning this to you,"

Ai took the toy knife from Michiru's hand and stood there stupidly. Next moment she asked, "What happened?"

"Errrrmmm…." was the only word Michiru could reply.

"You told me to shut my eyes for a moment and we give a surprise to me brother…"

"Uhh… Yeah. Yeah I said that,"

"So… In just one second, I ended up being on the floor and full of ketchup, how did you do that?"

"Magic?"

"And since when do I have a brother?"

"Oh, you're the only child of the family now, huh?"

"Yeah. And what do you mean by 'now'?"

Michiru merely smiled; Kojiro was really gone. Ai had no memory of this person.

"Nothing. But first you need to go change your clothes. You can't go out to the Horror House like this. When we come back I'll take your clothes, alright? Don't worry. It'll be clean when I return you,"

Michiru was starting to get intimate with Ai again, but that no longer mattered to Wilhelmina currently. She suddenly felt an urge to cry. So all this time Michiru was trying to help Wilhelmina. And yet, she felt that Michiru had left her alone, forgotten completely about her and found another girl.

She could not take it. No… Michiru had been so nice to her, and she thought ill about him. She could not help it. Tears were flooding her eyes, threatening to fall, but she tried to control them. Nobody had ever done so much for her before, nobody to show her this much care. Not even Shana, or Tiamat. And when Michiru gave her all that she wanted, she did not appreciate them. The latter even risked his own life to help her destroy Kojiro. If Kojiro's Flame had not been extinguished in time, what could have happened?

Wilhelmina squatted down and chewed her skirt. She wanted to distract herself. She refused to cry. Michiru was merely a Mystes, while she was a Flame Haze. Wilhelmina had already forgotten when the last time she even shed a tear was. Back then when she was forced to leave Shana, Shana had been crying to her heart's content, but Wilhelmina looked as if she had no feelings at all. Leaving a close friend is sad enough, but not enough to make the Banjou no Shite cry. And now… she was going to cry… because of a Mystes?

Why?


	17. The Horror Within

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana. Ryo just did.

Chapter 17 – The Horror Within

Yuji and Shana woke up to realize that Michiru was no longer in his room, or any corner in Yuji's house.

"Maybe he's at my- I mean… Yukari Hirai's house. Wilhelmina…" Shana suggested. "Go look for him, won't you?"

"Should have realized that…" Yuji muttered under his breath. Michiru was definitely acting like he doesn't care a about Wilhelmina. He must have sneaked up in the middle of the night to check on Wilhelmina and ended up falling asleep there.

"What?" Shana said.

"Nothing. I'll go look for him. Or maybe you should come along too. He has to be there. Then we can go together. Saves up the time for coming back,"

"Whatever,"

As Shana walked with Yuji, the latter began to think about Michiru. Mystes do not need sleep, and assuming that Michiru was trying to make Yuji think that he does not care about Wilhelmina any more, he could not be stupid enough not to sneak back before Yuji and Shana woke up. Did something happen?

"YUJI!" Shana shouted. Yuji jumped.

"Weren't you listening?" Shana shouted angrily.

"Sorry," Yuji apologized.

"I was asking you whether how many people are going there!"

"Errrmmm…" Yuji thought for a while, and replied, "Ogata-san, Tanaka, Satou… and… and Michiru... His Ai-chan is going with him too,"

"Ai-chan?"

"Oh, yeah, you still don't know. Michiru's got a new girl. She gave him a bento yesterday, and they met after school,"

"Michiru-kun's got a new-!"

"Yeah. But since he's attracting so much attention from girls it's a matter of time for him to get one,"

"But… I thought… Wilhelmina…"

"He told me yesterday that there was nothing going on between them,"

"Impossible…"

Shana then shut up. Yuji thought it was best to leave her alone. She seemed to be in a shocked state, as if rejected from a guy or something.

They finally reached Yukari's place. The door was wide open, which aroused suspicion.

"Michiru? Carmel-san?" Yuji called from outside.

No reply came.

"I'm coming in," Yuji said.

He entered the house, and then went to the room which Wilhelmina was laying on yesterday. There was nobody there.

"Shana! He's not here!" Yuji shouted.

"Maybe he's somewhere else in the house?" Shana said.

"Carmel-san isn't here either," Yuji continued.

"WHAT!" Shana screamed.

They searched high and low in the house, but had no luck in finding Michiru or Wilhelmina.

"Do you think that they've gone somewhere without informing us, or do you think something has happened?" Yuji came up with a question.

"I don't think Michiru-kun was here," Shana said and pointed at the bed, "I can tell from the way the sheets are now. Doesn't seem that Michiru-kun helped Wilhelmina out of bed, and if he were here he wouldn't have let her to get up on her own,"

Yuji did not know how Shana could tell, but they make sense.

"So… what now?" He asked.

"Call him," Shana commanded.

"Okay,"

Yuji picked up his phone and called Michiru, like he was told. Fortunately, the call was through.

"Yo!" Michiru's voice rang from the phone.

"Michiru, where are you now?" Yuji asked worryingly.

"Me? I'm with Ai-chan, of course! Didn't I just tell you yesterday?"

Yuji smacked himself in the forehead. How could he be so forgetful? Michiru's weirdness and coldness towards Wilhelmina made him fail to remember everything.

"Carmel-san isn't home, you know that?" Yuji quickly said, but before he could finish the words Michiru suddenly hung up.

"Hello? Hello?" Yuji continued to say to the phone stupidly.

"Where's Wilhelmina?" Shana asked.

"Michiru says he hasn't seen her," Yuji answered. "And he's with Ai-chan now,"

"Michiru-kun is okay, then. It's Wilhelmina that worries me,"

"I'm worried about Carmel-san too, but we best get going. Don't wanna be late. I'm sure Carmel-san can take care of herself,"

Yuji walked towards the exit, but Shana refused to budge. He turned around and said, "You're not thinking about breaking a promise, aren't you? I told them you'd be there,"

"I'm thinking about breaking Michiru's head…" Shana muttered under her breath angrily.

"Battery flat…" Michiru grunted, "I was certain that Yuji was saying something,"

He took off the battery and put it in again. The phone managed to turn on again, but the screen went blank after four seconds.

"Oh well," He thought to himself, "Guess I'll ask him after we meet up,"

"Ummm… senpai?" Ai asked while checking the time via her phone, "Shouldn't we get going now?

"Huh? Oh, it's time already!" Michiru exclaimed. "C'mon, Ai-chan, let's go,"

Michiru quickly brought Ai to the place where he had agreed to meet his friends, hoping that he was not too late. He had been taking his own sweet time chatting with Ai while having breakfast with her.

"Yo," Keisaku greeted the moment Michiru arrived. "You're here,"

"Yeah, I am. So am I the last person?" Michiru asked, hoping that they had not waited for him too long.

"Nah," Matake said cheerfully, "Sakai-kun and Yukari are not here yet,"

Michiru looked around. The only people here were him, Ai Takasu, Keisaku Satou, Eita Tanaka, Matake Ogata and Kazumi Yoshida.

"I thought Yuji called to make me come here faster," Michiru thought, feeling silly.

"Hey, who's that girl behind you?" Eita suddenly asked.

"Huh?" Matake and Keisaku said in unison.

"Oh," Michiru said, "This is Ai-chan. One of our kohai,"

"S-Senpai…" Ai whispered shyly, "Y-You didn't say…"

"Sorry,"Michiru said, knowing what the rest of Ai's sentence were. Ai must be a little confused. Michiru had not told her that she would be with a couple more senpai, not she and Michiru alone. "Slipped my mind,"

"You're horrible…" Ai said, close to tears.

"I'm sorry," Michiru apologized.

"Sorry?" Ai screamed angrily, "You're sorry? I HATE YOU!"

She turned around and left. Michiru shouted her name, but Ai ran faster and faster, wiping tears from her eyes, then finally disappeared from Michiru's eyesight.

"Women…" Michiru muttered under his breath, sighing.

"What the hell was that for?" Keisaku yelled angrily. "She's like…. One of the cutest kohai in our school, and…"

"Why are you acting like this? It's not like she's your sister or something," Michiru said.

"I can't believe it; you just dissipated a cute girl!" Keisaku bellowed, "I know you've got the charm and everything, but don't you think it's such a waste?"

"I've got a girl already," Michiru replied.

"How many girls do you have?" Eita asked curiously, unable to stand Keisaku's noise.

"Now that the girl just left, I've only got one," Michiru said coolly, "Isn't one enough?"

"Dude…" Eita muttered.

"I can't believe it," Keisaku said, "I can't seem to get a girl I like to like me, and you just toy with girls' feelings…"

"Oh? You have a crush on someone?" Michiru asked.

Keisaku sighed, "Don't pry on it any more… She'll never know I like her,"

"You stupid or what? Just tell her, then!" Michiru said.

"IT'S NOT THAT SIMPLE! SHE'S A FLAME HAZE, ALRIGHT?" Keisaku screamed, unable to hold his emotions.

Everybody's heads turned towards Keisaku as he continued to pant angrily. Even Eita was shocked.

"You can't possibly be talking about…" Eita began.

"Just shut up!" Keisaku shouted angrily. Then he ran away, almost the same way as Ai's.

"Hey, wait!" Eita yelled and ran after him.

Michiru looked at them running, feeling guilty. He did not realize that Matake was beside him.

"What were they talking about? Something about a… Flame?" She asked.

"Maybe you heard wrongly," Michiru quickly answered, "I could barely hear what he was mumbling,"

"I swear I didn't make a mistake. His voice was booming," Matake said stubbornly, "Anyways, thank you for ruining everything, Akenabe-kun,"

She stomped Michiru on the foot, making him jump, and then stormed away.

Michiru sighed again.

"So it's my fault, then?"

He stood there for a few seconds before realizing that he still had a classmate there.

"Yoshida-san, isn't it?" Michiru asked when he walked towards her.

"Yes," Kazumi replied politely, nodding her head slightly.

"You're not going back?"

"I'm waiting for Sakai-kun…"

"Same here,"

The next sixty seconds passed in silence. Neither of them knew what to say. They waited and waited, but still no sign of Yuji and Shana. Then, quite suddenly, the Fuzetsu was activated.

Michiru and Kazumi gasped. They looked around in panic. Suddenly Kazumi jumped even more.

"What's wrong?" Michiru asked.

"Y-Y-Y-You can… move?" Kazumi said, refusing to believe her eyes.

"Oh, wait. You're moving too!" Michiru said, surprised.

Kazumi picked up her eyeglass which she used to find out that Yuji Sakai was a Torch. She looked through it and said, "Strange. You're not a Torch,"

"I am a Mystes," Michiru corrected her.

"I cannot see your flame," Kazumi said.

"Well, that's because-"

However, before Michiru could finish his sentence, a piercing scream broke the silence. The sound seemed to be coming from behind them. They spun around to see a ghoul coming out from the Horror House, screaming in an eerie tone, holding a grim reaper's scythe.

"Crap," Michiru said, "More of them are coming from behind!"

This was true. More ghouls, now with different appearances and holding different weapons are walking towards them from the entrance. Michiru quickly caught Kazumi's hand and made a break for it.

"C'mon, let's run," Michiru whispered. The next moment he knew, his legs were carrying him non-stop as he felt the wind blowing his face. He could hear Kazumi's panting as she ran beside him, hands held.

"Just hang in there a little," Michiru said, "I'll shake them off,"

Michiru hoped that Kazumi will not run out of breath, but he knew he could not stop now. He suddenly felt so useless. Didn't he have any Mystes power inside him? Did he refuse to summon the powers just because an untrustworthy Mystes told him not to?

He took out his phone and tried to call Yuji, but realized that it was not working. Shouldn't Yuji and Shana have arrived by now? What was taking them so long? Then, quite suddenly, a ghoul leaped from behind them and blocked their road infront.

"Shoot," Michiru grunted and turned around, only to find out that they were cornered on a narrow alley. He looked around. Ghouls were everywhere, in front of and behind them. He was certain that only a few were on his trail. How come there were millions of them now?

Michiru held Kazumi closed to him, ready to shield her any time, but would that be any good? There was no way to escape. They were fully cornered. Maybe he should try and use some of his powers. He should not trust Zeus too much.

Suddenly he felt Kazumi give him a tug. He looked at her and saw her pointing at the roof of a building. A hooded figure was standing there. Holding two shield sized shuriken, ready to attack.


	18. Rider of the Wind's Finest Hour

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana. Ryo just did.

Michiru : What's Wilhelmina Carmel's favorite song?

Ryosuke: Caramelldansen!

Chapter 18 – Rider of the Wind's Finest Hour

The hoodlum jumped at their direction. Michiru quickly shielded Kazumi, but their opponent did not seem to be attacking. Instead he landed a few feet in front of Michiru, putting his hands in the pockets of the hood, bending his knees and hunching his head, so that the hood actually covered his face.

"We've met," The person said. Michiru could sense familiarity in that voice.

"You're that Mystes who attacked Shana back then at the gym, right?" Michiru asked.

"Bingo," Ryosuke smiled. A gush of wind blew off the hood, revealing his face and orange hair.

"What are all these?" Michiru asked, hoping that Ryosuke would not attack either of them.

"These silly ghouls?" Ryosuke looked around and said, "Bal Masque,"

"Bal Masque?" Michiru asked. He swore he heard that word before.

"I don't mind sharing information. The Bal Masque are an organization of Denizens who moved into the human world several millennia ago under the Grand Master and the God of Creation, the **Sairei no Hebi**. After his defeat by Flame Hazes, it is currently led by three powerful figures called the Trinity. Since then, the Bal Masqué stayed low and became an organization to support Denizens, like Outlaw does with Flame Hazes. Their goal is to accomplish the **"Grand Order"**, of which the details are yet unknown, and the Power of Unrestraint called the **"Psalm of Grand Order"** and Reiji Maigo is the key vital to their plot. The subordinate members of Bal Masqué are largely classified into three types of functions; the combatants called Wanderers, the trackers and scouts called Jaegers, and the messengers called Heralds," Ryosuke explained.

"I think I'd better check Wikipedia," Michiru rolled his eyes, Ryosuke used so many words that are actually not words at all, and he could barely understand anything.

"This IS from Wikipedia," Ryosuke said, rolling his eyes as well.

"Fine…" Michiru sighed.

"Anyways," Ryosuke continued, "The Reiji Maigo used to be the priority of the Bal Masque's plot to do something,"

"What thing?"

"Want to hear non-Japanese words again?"

"No thanks,"

"Good. But now some bastard Jaegers seemed to have tipped them off about you. So now they're gonna use you instead of the Reiji Maigo,"

"Because they think I'm stronger than him?"

"You ARE stronger. That's why they pick you. And I'm here so that it would not happen,"

"Wait… you came to assist me?"

"Or else why would I be here?"

"I thought you were the one who summoned all these abominations!"

"Yeah, right… I came here so that you don't have to fight this thing. You can't control the power. Zeus also warned you not to use it. If Kuvestar touches you it's game over to the world,"

"This Kuvestar. He's the leader?"

"The most powerful member," Ryosuke corrected him.

"And what's his power. And what does it got to do with touching?"

Ryosuke sniggered.

"Sorry. Sensitive to certain words," He explained, then continued to giggle.

"Hey, be serious!" Michiru said angrily.

"Okay, okay! Whenever he touches some being, he unlocks its powers to its maximum potential. And by maximum potential I mean that he can use your powers which you don't even know!"

"So how much power he has now?"

"Ask him yourself. I don't talk crap in front of him,"

"Oh, and I have another question,"

"Shoot,"

"How come this time it's the Fuzetsu and not the time stopping thingy again?"

"Kuvestar is the only one capable of this skill, now that the previous possessor of this ability was killed by him. The Bal Masque are most probably the ones who activated it.

"Akenabe-kun…" Kazumi whispered suddenly. Michiru almost forgot that she was here.

"Huh?"

"Look there,"

Michiru looked up. So did shadows are approaching them. At the same time, the ghouls beside them retreated a few steps, as if giving way for the Denizens to land.

"_Bel Peol and Sydonay,_" Wilhelmina's voice suddenly rang, and it seemed to come from his head.

'Wilhelmina!" Michiru shouted, looking around. Wilhelmina was nowhere to be seen.

"Wil-!" Michiru continued, but Ryosuke cut across him.

"She's not here,"

"What? Where is she now? What did you do to her?"

"And that's not even her voice,"

"_Michiru… Help… Please help me… It hurts… It really hurts!_" Wilhelmina's voice continued to ring, and this time she sounded… so soft…

"WILHELMINA!" Michiru bellowed.

"Calm down, dude. You really can't take a joke?" Ryosuke said. "That was me. I was using the power of the wind to transfer my voice into your ears, giving you a false impression that you were hearing things in your head,"

"What!"

"Back then at the gym. How do you think you would know that that maid would get hurt?"

"Hurt? She only scalded her hand…"

"If you hadn't arrived in time, she would. And by hurt I MEAN really hurt. So all I did was pretend to fight the Enpatsu Shakugan no Uchite, while tipping you off to go take a look at her,"

"So you're saying I should thank you, then,"

"Save the thanks. I've a battle to concentrate on. Run now. As far as you can. I'll end up hurting that girl behind you if you don't run far enough,"

"But we're surrounded…"

Ryosuke beamed. He raised his shuriken on his right hand and left in hanging in mid-air. A moment later, it began to spin, faster and faster every second and suddenly it sped off at the direction so fast and returned to the owner like a boomerang before Michiru could know what was going on. He heard Kazumi gasping behind him, and gasped too when he found out why the latter did so. The road to his left was cleared. No ghouls or any strange beings were left.

"How-!" He quickly asked, but Ryosuke cut across him, even quicker.

"Now it's cleared. Grab this girl. Run. I probably won't be here anymore after this,"

"What do you mean?"

"Can't you see it?"

Michiru wondered what he was supposed to see at first. Then he noticed it. Ryosuke's Flame.

"Yeah. I don't have much time left. So if I were to disappear, I'll disappear epically,"

"W-Wait…"

"Back then when I did the finisher on Zeus, I realized one thing. It wasn't death that I'm scared of… It was oblivion. I just don't want the world to forsake me… But I guess I won't now, huh? Now that I've met you… You won't forget me, won't you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You can't change fate. I'm dead. And thus I should disappear. This is my fate."

"Ryosuke…"

"Just promise me one thing. Next time if you were to write a fanfic with my name on it, don't put the character as an antagonist, and don't make him die,"

"I promise…"

They both nodded curtly.

"Go now," Ryosuke said, "I'll end up hurting you twoif I were to use full strength and defeat those two,"

"You can defeat them alone?" Michiru could not believe his ears.

"You defeated Kojiro alone, didn't you?"

"Well… his Flame was already- Oh, shit!" Michiru shouted suddenly. The two members of Bal Masque, Bel Peol and Sydonay had already landed before Michiru could make a break for it with Kazumi.

"Where do you think you're going, Golden?" Bel Peol said, "You're ours now. You're not going anywhere,"

"What did I tell you, huh?" Ryosuke said ironically, "I told you to run quickly, but you stood here wasting your precious time. Just because you aren't affected by the flows of time doesn't necessarily mean you can just-"

"Wait a minute; you're the one who was saying all those crap!" Michiru retorted angrily.

"Oh well," Ryosuke conceded, "You're surrounded now. No point saying anymore. Game over,"

"Yoshida-san!" Yuji voice suddenly boomed from behind. Michiru and Kazumi spun around. Shana was carrying Yuji and they were flying at this direction.

"Sakai-kun," Kazumi said happily.

"Man, what's with that fella? He only called the girl's name!" Ryosuke said, now folding his hands and his hood covering his face once again.

"You'll do the same, dude," Michiru answered, "So will I,"

"Alright," Bel Peol said, "We've got company,"

She was about to leap into the air and fight Shana when Ryosuke did something which was brave, stupid and pervertic.

"You're supposed to fight me, lady," Ryosuke said in a polite tone, and then he ripped Bel Peol shirt off. (O_O) Then, giggling hard, he sped off into the sky. While Bel Peol was busy covering her spots and Sydonay banging his fists on the floor from all that laughing, Shana managed to grab Michiru and Kazumi without engaging any combat.

"_Tell her to go further away. You're still not far enough…_" Ryosuke's voice rang in Michiru's ears. Michiru converted the message to Shana.

"Full strength? He's gonna use his full strength? What full strength? You mean he has more power-?" Shana was shocked when she heard all the information.

"_Hurry!_" Ryosuke said again.

"I'll explain later, just quickly run!" Michiru said angrily.

"_Not run. It's fly,_" Ryosuke corrected him but the latter ignored it.

"How far is far?" Shana asked crossly.

Michiru wanted to answer, but suddenly a loud noise made them look behind.

Ryosuke was standing in front of the two members of Bal Masque, strong wind blowing his orange hair around. Michiru understood, he was attracting some wind power, and then release them all at once. However, he was wrong, half-wrong, actually.

Shana managed to stand at a far place while having the battle in observation range. Michiru hoped it was safe, as Ryosuke did not send him any more messages. The four of them could see that Ryosuke was actually forming a tornado. In fact, _he_ was the tornado. Buildings were uprooted and attracted to it as the wind blew stronger and stronger, and the tornado got bigger and bigger, at an alarming rate.

Shana knew danger was arriving, and was about to fly away further, when she suddenly realized she could not. She was also attracted by the tornado. With her eyes half opened, she could see that the Bal Masque fell victim too.

"Shana!" Yuji shouted, "Hang in there!"

"Aaaaahhhh!" Kazumi screamed as Shana was absorbed by Ryosuke's powerful tornado, along with the three non-Flame Hazes. At instant, everything seemed to be spinning around. Were they all going to die?

All of a sudden, silver light shone brightly and blinded their eyes. Next moment they know, the four of them were standing on the ground. There was destruction everywhere. Nothing was left anymore. It was as if a hundred atomic bombs had landed on Misaki City. The Fuzetsu was still activated, of course.

"What was… that light?" Kazumi began.

"I think… it came from me…" Yuji answered truthfully, "I felt it…"

"Is that so?" Michiru said gratefully, "Thanks then. I owe you one,"

"Wow, Sakai-kun, you're amazing!" Kazumi said happily, "You saved us all!"

Yuji smiled shyly while Shana looked angry. Michiru wuickly distracted Shana.

"Shana-chan… What should we do now? This city…"

"I'll need a source to restore everything, or this could be permanent,"

"Source?"

"A Torch,"

"So… You can use me, then?"

"I don't think so. You may be right in front of me, but I can't detect your Flame. In fact, even as I'm talking to you I don't quite feel your presence either,"

"How 'bout Yuji?"

"He could, but I don't think it's enough. Nearly the whole Misaki City has been destroyed. I'd require a lot of Flame to restore everything. Even if he had enough Flame to do it, he wouldn't last until midnight, either. It's morning now,"

"And he would… disappear?"

Shana nodded. Somehow she seemed sad.

"I'll do it. I have infinite Flame, don't I?"

"That's what Wilhelmina told me. It might be false,"

"But it's our only hope…"

"You're right. So you're going to risk it?"

"If I were to disappear, I'd disappear epically,"

He suddenly paused. This was Ryosuke's quote. And now… Ryosuke must have been gone. He suddenly remembered hearing a voice when he was spinning inside the tornado.

"_Goodbye…_"

"MICHIRU-KUN!" Shana shouted.

"Huh?" Michiru jerked awake, "Sorry…"

"Just concentrate, alright? I know Zeus told you not to use your powers, but we have no choice now. Just for a few seconds will do. Please concentrate,"

Michiru nodded, and then closed his eyes.

"_Concentrate…_" He told himself, "_Concentrate…_"

"Concentrate harder!" Shana shouted irritably.

However, that only broke is concentration even more.

"I'm sorry, I don't know how. I can't do it…" Michiru conceded, opening his eyes.

"You're so useless!" Shana shouted angrily. "If you don't hurry and someone clears this Fuzetsu, it'll be permanent!"

"Ryosuke really is powerful, huh?" Michiru said.

"I'll admit," Shana said, "He is strong. I wonder what happened to the Bal Masque duo? Did they really die?"

"Bad guys don't die easily…" Michiru said.

"I guess so, but he managed to save you. I apologize. I came late,"

"No, no, don't. It's my fault. I can't even protect my own self, let alone to protect Wilhelm-"

He suddenly shut up. He said too much. Shana suddenly remembered something which she had forgotten due to the ruckus.

"Michiru-kun, Wilhelmina's gone!"

"What? I thought she was at…"

"She's not at Yuji's House, nor Yukari Hirai's. Do you know something about this?"

"She came to see me when I left early, but I didn't expect her to… Where is she now?"

"If I knew, then I wouldn't have asked you!"

"Wilhelmina…. No…"

Michiru knelt on the floor. Why? He was only trying to help her. He did not tell her that he was going to encounter Kojiro because he was worried about her safety, in case Kojiro attacked her, and she had been beaten twice by the Tsunade no Tatsujin. That was the reason he forced Shana to go to the Horror House with him, so that Wilhelmina would not use Shana as a spy. If Shana had not come to the Horror House, and stayed home with Wilhelmina instead, she could have brought her to safety. All these could not have happened.

Michiru clenched his fists as he begged for Wilhelmina to be fine. He was scared. He was responsible for what happened to Wilhelmina. He was even more afraid that Wilhelmina would die. Wilhelmina had suffered a few near death experiences, and managed to escape. Maybe she would this time, or could her luck have run out?

"Michiru-kun" Shana said, "What's wrong?"

"It's my fault…" Michiru bellowed, "It's my entire fault! Wilhelmina…. Wilhelmina… She… She… It's all because of me!"

Suddenly, he saw golden light coming from his body. He looked down. Golden was shining brightly. He felt sleepy all of a sudden. His shut his eyes, but a few seconds later, when Yuji gave him a loud scream from behind, his eyes opened wide once again. He looked around. The city had been restored to its original state.

"I… did it?" Michiru asked.

"Yeah," Yuji said happily, "Now we're all square. You don't owe me anymore,"

"Michiru-kun," Shana said, "Let's split and search for Wilhelmina. I'm sure she's alive. She's strong. Don't worry too much. We'll find her,"

Michiru nodded, but still not feeling much confidence.

"I'm scared… I don't want to know…" Michiru said quietly.

"Believe in her!" Shana raised her voice, "If you love her, then you'll believe in it! Tell yourself you'll find her… and you'll be together again! If you don't trust her at all, that means you don't love her!"

Shana's words were like a slap, waking Michiru up instantly.

"You're right," He looked into Shana's eyes and said confidently, "I love her. That's why I will find her. I'm sure she's alive right now, Shana-chan. Let's find her and bring her back to safety!"

Shana nodded and smiled; Michiru smiled, too.


	19. Silence

Ryosuke: Disclaimer: Both neither I nor Michiru does not does not not own Shakugan no Shana, and it does not carry the opposite meaning. As if…. NOT!

* * *

Chapter 19 –Silence

* * *

Wilhelmina was still squatting down under the tree. She let her mind travel a moment. Her thoughts strayed to that of her first love, Merihim. He meant much to her but he did not love her because of his devotion to Mathilde, the enpatsu shakugan no uchite before Shana.

Was this why she had a sudden urge to cry moments ago? She had tried her best to forget about Merihim, and had succeeded. She hardly thought of him nowadays, since the memories she had with him were mostly painful.

But why did she suddenly remember about him? Was it because of…

"Michiru…?" Wilhelmina whispered. She had a really weird feeling inside her after that. Somehow, her heart seemed to be beating faster as she said Michiru's name. Did Michiru remind her of Merihim? Feeling the wind on her face, she blinked. Tears were threatening to spill once again.

"_Do you know why I'm staying alive?_" Merihim's calm voice rang in her mind before she knew it.

"_Because she forced me to. I'm living now just to train the next enpatsu shakugan no uchite,_"

A tear dropped down of Wilhelmina's eye. She quickly wiped it away. The tear may be wiped off, but not her memories.

"_With that being said, I must warn you not to approach me with your feelings again. This promise we made to Mathilde is the only reason you and I are together, nothing more._"

More tears spilled out of her eyes.

"Stop…" She whispered to herself. She could not take it anymore. She quickly wiped away all her tears. Just then, another flashback came.

Wilhelmina was standing on the courtyard. She was calling Merihim a hateful person. He was already dead, but she still could not forget about her memories and forgive him.

She stood there for a long, long time, feeling the wind on her face; she suddenly realized there was something she needed. She needed comfort. She wanted somebody to show concern towards her. She was hoping that maybe someone would come. Someone would arrive, and…

She suddenly felt someone behind her touching her shoulder. Her eyes shot wide as she let out a small gasp. Someone really came… Who?

And then, the stranger gave her a hug (from behind, of course). She still could not see who that was, but she knew it belonged to a male. He put his face close to Wilhelmina's and tightened his grip. She half wondered why she did not turn around and look at the person hugging her.

Slowly, she closed her eyes. She was feeling the stranger's warm touch with bliss. She wanted this feeling to stay forever. Finally, someone to be with her when she was in such a lonely state. More than what she craved for…

But she knew something was definitely wrong. Apparently, somebody coming to comfort her was definitely not in her memory. The real thing that happened was that Wilhelmina had spent the whole time alone, all lonely and weak…

Yet, the feeling was too good, even if it had not really happened. This was what she really wanted back then. She wanted this feeling to stay forever, feeling this warm hug, which she had never received before. It was special. It held a lot of meaning behind it.

After what seemed like forever, Wilhelmina finally spoke.

"Don't let go of me…" She whispered.

"I never will," The stranger replied. Wilhelmina suddenly opened her eyes wide in shock.

"This voice…!" She said in shock.

Wilhelmina gasped and jerked awake. She looked around while panting. It was already nightfall, she must have fallen asleep. She did not even notice someone was squatting down in front of her until a few seconds later.

"Sorry, did I… wake you up?" The person said apologetically.

Wilhelmina looked at that person. It was none other than Michiru. He seemed to be putting his coat on her, but woke her up by accident during the process. Michiru continued to apologize as he put the coat on himself, unaware that Wilhelmina was not concentrating on his words.

"Sorry... I didn't mean to wake you up. I just… don't want you to catch a cold. I don't know why, but it's really chilly tonight, although it's summer-"

He ended his sentence in tone which sounded like he was stopping abruptly. He looked at Wilhelmina's face with his eyes squirmed.

"Wilhelmina…" He whispered, "Have you been crying…?"

Wilhelmina gasped. She could feel some liquid on her face. That simply had to be her tears.

"Is something the matter?" Michiru asked in concern.

Wilhelmina did not want to admit she was crying. She was thinking of a good excuse, but her brain seemed jam med at the moment. The dream had made her so weird when she woke up.

Once again, luck was on Wilhelmina's side. A drop of water suddenly dropped from a leaf and onto Michiru's head.

"Now I get it…" Michiru laughed.

He looked around. No one was nearby, just lights coming out from the houses nearby.

"Shall we… go back now?" Michiru asked, "It's getting cold here. I don't want you to catch a cold…"

Wilhelmina did not reply. She was still thinking about her dream.

"Err… Wilhelmina…?" Michiru said again. Wilhelmina continued to look at the floor, as if she had not heard him talking to her. He clapped his hands in front of her eyes. This made her look up.

"Hey, are you okay?" Michiru asked in concern once more.

Wilhelmina nodded. She shook herself mentally. It was only a dream. She could not let that affect her. The part of a person coming to comfort her was definitely not in her memory bank. Maybe she dreamed about it because she craved it, and that was all.

"Let's go back now. It's starting to freeze…"

Wilhelmina nodded. She was about to get up when Michiru reached his hand out to pull her up.

"Let's go back," Michiru said with a smile.

Wilhelmina was stunned. Should she take his hand? Or rather… why was she acting like this?

Suddenly, without warning, Michiru had grabbed her elbow and pulled her up.

"You should try to stay in the present, you know?" He said.

"Stay… in the present?" Wilhelmina thought to herself. Was it a coincidence in him using the words, or did Michiru know something?

She continued to gaze at Michiru's back as he walked further and further away from her, without realizing that she was actually looking at him.

"OI!" Michiru shouted, turning around, "Want me to lay the red carpet for you to walk or something?"

Wilhelmina jerked awake again. She certainly had to get rid of her thoughts about her dream. She walked slowly towards him. Michiru suddenly had a great idea.

"Remember the thing I promised you?" Michiru said with a happy tone, "We'll do it tonight, if it's okay with you. You haven't had anything, I bet,"

"Promise?" Wilhelmina asked. She did not remember making any promises as far as she remembered. However, Tiamat was the one who answered.

"Cooking,"

Wilhelmina suddenly felt her mood lift. Almost as if she had forgotten completely about the weird dream. Maybe that was because she enjoyed cooking, and finally there was someone who would willingly show her how to.

"Well…that's the only thing I can think of to cheer you up," Michiru said, "So… do you think that we've got enough materials to make something, or do you think we should buy some?"

"There is plenty in the fridge," Wilhelmina answered.

"Okay, then. I'll see what we can make when we get back,"

They continued to walk. Michiru suddenly turned around.

"Feeling cheered up already? You were looking so sad just now. Did something happen?"

Wilhelmina avoided the question. Michiru thought it was best not to pester her, but he still wanted to talk to her. He should choose his questions carefully. Maybe a topic which interests her, but what does she like?

"Wilhelmina… do you have any particular food that you like?"

Wilhelmina shook her head.

"I just like to cook," She answered.

"What a way to end a conversation…" Michiru thought darkly. He decided not to talk too much at the moment. Maybe he should start the talking when they start cooking. He was starting to feel a little nervous. He was not a very good cook himself, although he picked up some during class.

"Oh well, prepare to clean up the kitchen mess again…" He thought again, hoping that Wilhelmina was not really such a klutz in cooking, or else he'll spend more of his time cleaning than teaching her how to cook.

Wilhelmina suddenly sped up her walking. Michiru took a few seconds to realize that Wilhelmina was walking beside him, at the same pace.

"Thank you…" She said softly.

"No, don't thank me," Michiru said, scratching the back of his hair, feeling a little embarrassed. "And I have to say this first… I'm not so good in cooking myself, so if I failed to become a good teacher, I hope you won't hold it against me…"

"You can do it…" Wilhelmina said, and Michiru suddenly felt warmth throughout his whole body as she said it.

"Wil…" Michiru was lost for words. He did not know what to say. Finally he decided on-

"Thanks…"

He looked at Wilhelmina as they walked. He knew she was feeling happy, he could tell it from her face, but she just never seemed to smile. Maybe he should do something to make her give a really big smile…

Out of the blue, Michiru felt his hand brush against Wilhelmina's by accident. Ironically, they gasped at the same time, but continuing their pace. Wilhelmina began to blush. She began to feel as if Michiru had inhaled all the oxygen in the air. Michiru, meanwhile, had an alter ego who was giving him some advice.

"_Hold her hand... Just hold her hand... Don't be such a coward..."_ A voice in his head spoke.

"I'm not a coward..." Michiru thought to himself firmly, "It's just not the right time to do it..."

"_How long are you going to drag? Do it now. This is the only chance. You won't get them anymore..._"

"But I'm scared that she..."

"_Scared? Loser..._"

"Look... This is just an accident..."

"_Don't you get it? She wants your love... She needs it... So do it... Hold her hand... Haven't you carried her in your arms before?_"

"That was because she was unconscious..."

"_And you don't feel like this like you did back then..._"

"Just shut up..."

"_You'll regret if you don't..._"

"Hey, look here, bozo. I can do this anytime next time. If I do it now and the timing's wrong, THAT is the time where I don't get the chance again. I'll regret if I rush this too soon, y'know..."

They continued to walk in silence; heads turned the other way, not looking at each other. A couple of minutes later, Michiru took a sneak peek at the Banjou no Shite, but little did he know that the latter did the same too. The instant they know that they were exchanging glances, they quickly turned away, once again, in unison.

The long, long silence continued. Nothing could be heard except the engines of the cars passing by. Michiru forced himself to think of something to say, but had no luck in doing so. Then he suddenly realized one thing. Why did he have to act like this? All that happened was an accidental brush on the hands! In addition to everything, he could not possibly teach Wilhelmina how to cook if they were not making any eye contact!

Wilhelmina suddenly sneezed, and Michiru stopped in his track.

"I wonder why... it's summer, but the temperature feels more like an autumn night's," Michiru said, "Something strange is going on here..."

Subsequently, he heard Wilhelmina sneeze again.

"Hey, are you feeling cold?" He asked.

Wilhelmina stayed silent. Suddenly Michiru put his coat on her. They looked at each other silently. Wilhelmina wanted to remove the coat, but, although feeling that she did not really want to wear it, she did not want to take it off either.

"You're sneezing... You're getting a little cold, right? Let's head back soon," Michiru said, and sped up his pace. "If you catch a cold you'll be adding some special seasoning on the food we're gonna make later,"

They walked faster and faster, and without realizing, they were racing each other. Michiru looked at his Wilhelmina while both of them were running. She was beaming slightly, looking at him too. Michiru was glad. He smiled too; maybe seeing Wilhelmina happy makes him happy. He had succeeded; he thought to himself, he finally made her smile. He finally got to see her smiling face.

"I'm glad you cheered up, Wilhelmina," he told her, "I feel sad to see you gloomy..."


	20. Food of Love

Ryosuke: Disclaimer: Both neither I nor Michiru does not does not not own Shakugan no Shana, and it does not carry the opposite meaning. As if…. NOT!

Chapter 20: Food of Love

"So... Wilhelmina, have you had an idea of what you wanna make?" Michiru asked while he peered into the fridge. A few seconds of silence, then...

"Curry Udon..." Wilhelmina replied quietly, "I have a recipe book on how to make it.

"Curry Udon, huh? Well, that shouldn't be too hard to make," Michiru said, glad that Wilhelmina did not come up with anything peculiar.

Wilhelmina suddenly exited the kitchen without telling Michiru as the latter wondered why. Then, she returned with a book on her hand, which seemed like a cook book. She handed Michiru the book.

"You might... need this..." She said, a little shyly.

"Yeah, I guess I really do. Pleased that you had one," Michiru replied politely, nodding slightly as he took the book from Wilhelmina.

He flipped through the book as soon as he got it. Finally, he found the page with a large heading, which read 'CURRY UDON'.

"Ah," Michiru said, "Found it. Let's see, what do we need...?"

Wilhelmina opened the fridge, waiting for Michiru's instructions.

"Hmmm... do you have pork or err... chicken thigh?"

Wilhelmina nodded, and grabbed some meat out.

"And here's the rest," Michiru continued, "An onion, carrot, some shiitake mushrooms... And I need..."

In the end, Wilhelmina managed to take out everything that Michiru requested. Michiru was glad.

"So... Shall we begin?" Michiru started.

Wilhelmina nodded. They headed to the sink. Michiru handed her the book temporarily while taking out some cutleries for her and washed them. He handed them to her and she put on the cooking table.

"I am supposed to cut the pork..." Wilhelmina muttered to herself, and then she left the kitchen again without saying a word. She returned with a long ruler on her hand.

"Errr... Wil-" Michiru wondered what Wilhelmina was attempting.

"I am following the book's instructions..." Wilhelmina replied.

"Instructions?" Michiru asked. Since when is a ruler required for cooking?

"The book says that I should slice the meat equally, so I have to measure the length as not to make any errors," Wilhelmina explained.

Michiru was lost for words as Wilhelmina measured the length carefully and sliced them, into perfect equal pieces, but taking a long time during the process. Michiru was glad he did not have to teach Wilhelmina how to hold a knife.

"Then the shiitake mushrooms," Michiru told her. She nodded, grabbing some mushrooms from a packet.

Suddenly Michiru thought of something to do.

"Umm, Wilhelmina, is it alright if I leave you alone for a minute? I need to charge my phone's battery in case Yuji or someone calls Anywhere I can charge it?"

"The living room..."

"Okay. Please be careful with the knife. Don't cut yourself,"

"I know,"

Then, feeling that he could leave her alone to her cooking for sixty seconds and telling himself Wilhelmina would not blow up the kitchen like she did last time without his surveillance, he exited the kitchen.

Then, when he returned, he saw something which made his heart break into a million pieces... well, literally, he had no heart anyway.

Wilhelmina was crying.

Michiru quickly rushed towards her and asked in concern, "What's wrong? Did you cut yourself?"

Wilhelmina shook her head and pointed towards the ingredients she was cutting - some green onions. Michiru gave a sigh of relieve. He thought Wilhelmina was really crying. Onions give out a kind of substance which makes you tear, but that did not affect him; he had no tears left...

But seeing Wilhelmina cry sure gave him a really weird feeling. He had a sudden urge to give her a hug and maybe stroke her hair. But she was not really crying anyway. He suddenly remembered that Wilhelmina's eyes were a little swollen when he found her at the tree. Had she been crying? And why?

He found her at... the tree... _that tree_.

"Wilhelmina..." Michiru said suddenly, "Were you tailing me this morning?"

He knew he sounded rude, but he wanted to know the truth. Wilhelmina gasped loudly. The knife she was holding dropped on the floor. Michiru quickly picked up the knife.

"I told you to be careful with this thing. What if this thing dropped on your foot? I don't want you to get hurt, Wilhelmina..."

Wilhelmina looked apologetic. Michiru paused a while and continued.

"Now, can you answer my question?"

"Yes..." Wilhelmina said softly. "You were acting weird, so..."

"So you decided to follow me?"

She nodded.

"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have acted suspicious and everything... I even hit you..." He gave a little sigh, "Does it... still hurt now?"

"Not anymore... But... you did it because you wanted to protect me... That's why you hit me,"

Now it was Michiru's turn to gasp.

"I was feeling a little jealous when you told us that you were going out with another girl... but actually you were pretending to be doing it..." Wilhelmina began.

"How did you...? You heard everything back there?"

"Yes... Ai-chan was actually Kojiro's sister. But... how did you know who she was?"

Michiru cleared his throat.

"Well first Ai-chan asked me to go out with her. Then I asked for her name. Takasu, she said. Then I noticed the eyes. They were strangely familiar.

"So, when I went out with her, I kept asking her questions about her brother... and it seemed that the characteristics of her brother, as she mentioned, were very similar to Kojiro.

"And finally, I went to her house. Bingo! I went into Kojiro's room. I saw pictures of Kojiro and Ai. AND I know Kojiro's deepest and darkest secrets. But the thing he wrote which caught my attention is 'I don't know why, but I seemed to have accidentally went into my Demon Form and it consumes so much of my Flame and now my Flame's about to extinguish. I'm worried about Ai and Mom. I hope they can live on happily after I no longer exist.'

"It seemed that Kojiro had a soft spot after all. So I had it all planned. My motive was to destroy Kojiro, but leave the innocent ones unharmed. So I decided to tell Ai that her brother is planning to return home and give her a surprise. I told her we should give him a surprise too, we play a joke on him.

"I had texted her brother. I told him that Ai was in danger and everything. Maybe he didn't believe at first. He phoned Ai, and Ai pretended that she was being kidnapped. I bet he panicked and rushed there immediately. Then I covered her in tomato sauce and brought a fake knife and told her to feign unconscious.

"And the rest... you were there, I suppose. Kojiro eventually used up all his power. I succeeded. Helping you get revenge, while living Ai unharmed. I'll have to thank Ai for being so naive..."

Wilhelmina was suddenly looking very emotional, staring at the floor.

"Hey... what's wrong?" Michiru asked.

Wilhelmina did not say anything. She looked at him, and suddenly flung her head on Michiru's chest. The latter was rather taken aback.

"W-Wil..."

"Thank you..." Wilhelmina said.

Michiru put his left arm on Wilhelmina's back and stroked her hair gently with his right hand, smelling the fragrance of her hair as he held her close to him.

"Don't thank me. I just want to protect you,"

A minute passed in silence. Then, Michiru loosened his grip on Wilhelmina.

"Shouldn't you continue? The food, I mean,"

Wilhelmina got out of Michiru's lovely embrace and continued her cooking. She used her ruler to measure the negi and cut them into four inches each.

"Wilhelmina... What on earth are you doing?" Michiru could not help himself.

"I am following the book's instructions," Wilhelmina replied, "It says I should cut them into four inches,"

"The author doesn't really mean-"

"I want to try my best and make the best food. That is why I cannot make any errors. I failed in my cooking too many times. This time I'm going to follow everything from the book and..."

"It's not like this, Wilhelmina..." Michiru said, raising his voice slightly, and then lowered it, "It's not like this... This isn't the way you do it..."

"But..."

"You don't need to follow everything perfectly from the book. You just need one special recipe. Love..."

"Love?"

Michiru nodded.

"You'll have to follow the taste of the person you're cooking for. Different people have different tastes. Take instant noodles for instance. Some people like the chicken flavour one, while some like it spicy... Making good food isn't all about following a cookbook completely. As long as the person you love likes it... it's the best food in the world, regardless of following the recipe completely or not,"

Suddenly, Michiru's phone rang.

"Whoa, I'm psychic. Somebody really called. Good thing I charged it," Michiru said. He put his hand on Wilhelmina's shoulder.

"You should know what to do next, right?"

Wilhelmina nodded. Michiru gave her a smile and exited the kitchen. When he reached the living room, he picked up his phone and spoke.

"Hello?"

"Hello?" Came a voice from the phone.

"Shana-chan?"

"Yes. Michiru-kun have you found Wilhelmina?"

"Yeah. We're at Hirai Yukari's house. I'm teaching Wilhelmina how to make-"

"Wait... don't tell me she's making dinner..."

"Okay. I won't tell then, since you asked me not to,"

Shana gave a groan.

"You're still coming back to Yuji's house right?"

"Yeah. And so is Wilhelmina. We're just using the kitchen here, that's all. I don't dare use Yuji's, since-"

He nearly gave away about Wilhelmina blowing up the kitchen. Nobody except him and Wilhelmina should know about that.

"Since it's his and we're his guests. It'll be kinda rude,"

"Whatever... I'm glad you found her, but shouldn't you have called when you-"

"Hey my phone battery was dead when I found her, I only charged it for two minutes,"

"Ah never mind then..."

And Shana hung up. Michiru headed to the kitchen once again. Wilhelmina seemed to have made a lot of progress. She was now frying the meat, but staring into deep space, her eyes not moving, not even blinking. She must have been thinking about something. Furthermore...

"Wilhelmina!" Michiru exclaimed. "The pork is... burnt!"

Wilhelmina gave a small gasp and turned off the fire. She looked at the meat. It was already burnt.

"What's the matter? You're not concentrating! Were you thinking about something?"

Wilhelmina did not answer, but stared at the burnt pork with a sad look. Then, slowly, she spoke.

"It's... love..."

"What?"

"Love... I... put a little love inside it, that's why I cooked it for a longer time..."

"_What a lame excuse... but it's kinda funny,_" Michiru thought darkly, but the words which came out from his mouth was, "It's okay. Just be careful next time, alright?"

Wilhelmina nodded, but still looked rather sad.

"Hey don't feel discouraged, okay? I'm eating anything you cook, and that includes burnt meat!"

Wilhelmina knew Michiru was trying to comfort her, but she still felt that she had let him down. Why was she so careless? She continued her cooking without making any sound, while Michiru gave her instructions every now and then.

And finally, the curry udon was done. Wilhelmina put two bowls of udon on the dining table. Michiru was already sitting down, chopsticks on his hand.

"Itadakimasu," He said while eyeing the food. Then, without warning, it was chow down time for him.

"How does it taste?" Wilhelmina could not help asking, since Michiru was eating at quite a fast rate.

"It's not bad, but it's a little too spicy for me," Michiru answered truthfully after swallowing, "Shana-chan and Yuji have _got _to be exaggerating about how abysmal your food tastes,"

He was about to take another bite when he suddenly realized that Wilhelmina had not touched her udon at all.

"Why aren't you eating?"

Only then Wilhelmina began to take a few bites.

"Thank you..." She said gratefully.

"Don't thank me. I seriously don't think the food tastes bad at all, except the meat maybe. Hey why don't you cook a few more times for m- us. You know. Maybe Yuji and Shana-chan would like to see how much you improved,"

Wilhelmina blushed slightly at this.

"So... normally what do you eat? I bet you don't cook often,"

"Instant noodles,"

"Those noodles, huh? I know they're tasty and cheap and they don't take much time to cook, but they're not healthy. You shouldn't eat that all the time,"

"I'll be okay... I'm a Flame Haze..."

"I know you are one... But Flame Haze or not, you have to take care of your health. That stuff is not good for you,"

Michiru's words gave her a strange feeling. He was concerned about her...

"Hey..." Michiru said, "You can leave your thoughts for later. Hurry up and finish the food before it turns cold,"

Wilhelmina looked at Michiru's bowl. He had almost finished everything. She was glad. Michiru had not complained about the food. She did not feel that she had done a good job, but Michiru's words really lifted her spirits.

"You have room for improvement," Michiru stated, "But since my beloved Wilhelmina made this, I like it. It makes Ai-chan's bento taste like carpet,"

Wilhelmina could not help it. She smiled. Michiru's joke was quite funny, although he did not laugh at it.

"You should smile more often, you know..." Michiru said, making Wilhelmina's face redden, "You look sweet when you do. Don't act emo all the time,"

They continued dinner in silence. Once Wilhelmina drank the last spoonful of soup, Michiru began.

"Umm... Wilhelmina?"

Wilhelmina put the spoon on her bowl and looked at Michiru.

"Are you free tomorrow?"

He was quite surprised to hear Wilhelmina ask "Why?". He thought that she was going to shake or nod her head.

"Well... I err... feel like going to the funfair," Michiru said, feeling that he might have come up with better words, "So... I was wondering... if you... if you'd like to... hang out with me..."

He managed to finish the words. It was as though something was stealing his voice as he spoke.

"Hang out... with you?" Wilhelmina asked.

"Errr well if you don't feel like it, it's okay, I just had a thought that's all,"

"Tomorrow?"

"Huh?"

"We will be going tomorrow?"

Michiru gave a small grin.

"Yeah!" He said, confidence burning inside him, "Would you like to go to the funfair with me tomorrow? Or maybe a few days later?"

"I am free tomorrow,"

"Well, that settles it, then! C'mon we should clear up and return to Yuji's house. It's getting quite late already,"

Wilhelmina nodded. Once they finished clearing up, they walked to Yuji's house together, burning with excitement for tomorrow, but not showing it on their faces.

Meanwhile, a Mystes and a Guze no Tomogara were looking at the shadows of Michiru and Wilhelmina.

"Tomorrow. Fun fair. You know which one he's talking about, right?" The Tomogara said. He had long blue hair which was quite bushy.

"Of course," Kuvestar replied, a sinister smile on his face, "And tomorrow, you shall do your thing and I shall do mine,"

"You're sure it won't fail?"

"I'll make sure the kid will not kill you once he awakens Golden, if that's what you mean,"

"Why can't you just go and touch him now?"

"I told you many times, Edward. The Hougu inside Golden enables it to become undetected. If I can't locate the source of its existence, I can't get his power. I need him to show himself,"

"Lemme remind you this. You already have all sorts of powers, including mine-"

"But I won't be able to use it freely. My Flame is limited,"

"You have the Reiji Maigo's powers, correct? You're not in jeopardy of disappearing, so you can use your-"

"And if I use up all my powers before midnight?"

Edward shrugged.

"At least that problem will be solved tomorrow. I'm as excited as the kid and the maid," Kuvestar said. "Tomorrow, I shall take his powers. I shall destroy him, and I shall- change the world!"

Edward grinned.

"Just don't be overconfident, mate,"


	21. A Warning

Ryosuke: Disclaimer: Both neither I nor Michiru does not does not not own Shakugan no Shana, and it does not carry the opposite meaning. As if…. NOT!

Chapter 21 – A Warning

Michiru was feeling rather excited about tomorrow as he lay on his bed. Wilhelmina would be going out with him at the funfair the next day. The date would be fun, he told himself, and there are many things to do there.

And yet, a part of him felt nervous. For the first time, he was actually afraid that he would end up making a fool out of himself; afraid of something to screw up his date... But why? He always got along well with Wilhelmina... He was never really shy in front of girls...

Could it be that their relationship had gotten even closer? Back then he treated her as an acquaintance. Then a friend. And now? Who is she to him now? Could he possibly be _falling for her_?

Michiru remembered back then when he first found her, it was at the alleyway. Wilhelmina was beaten unconscious by Kojiro Takasu. He had brought her to his so called "house" and treated her wounds. He did not remember being diffident back then. He had communicated with her like any other of his friends...

His memory of Wilhelmina battling Zeus flashed in his mind. He had thought she was dead, but Zeus was actually lying. He felt so relieved afterwards. Had he already been harbouring feelings for her at that time?

He remembered putting her on his lap as he touched her cheek. He had not felt any shyness in touching her back then. But now... he could barely have the guts to look at her. In addition to everything, he always had a weird sensation in his stomach whenever he said her name; aloud or in his mind.

And speaking –or in this case, thinking- about thinking she was dead, he suddenly remembered calling for her name desperately when she was unconscious. He had thought of the worst. Then he felt that he did not want to live anymore. Anything else seemed meaningless. Wilhelmina was all he needed, and he could not live without her...

Nor could he fall asleep right now. The prospect of going out with her tomorrow was more than enough to give him a week's worth of sleepless nights. Suddenly, someone knocked the door, nearly making him jump.

The first person most likely to knock the door came into his mind automatically. Wilhelmina. He walked towards the door. His hand was on the handle when he told himself. _Stay cool...Don't freak out when she comes in..._

Only that the person outside his room was not Wilhelmina at all. He did not know whether he ought to be relieved or disappointed. Before he could sort out his feelings, Shana was speaking already.

"So... I don't know how to put it, but... congratulations?"

"Huh?" Michiru said, uncertain of what Shana was getting at.

"You know what I mean! You're going out with Wilhelmina tomorrow, aren't you?"

"Err... yeah...?"

He stopped himself from saying "So?" by giving her a little grin.

"Well... if you want to cancel it, I think now's the right time, rather than doing it tomorrow,"

"What are talking about?"

"Cancel your appointment with her tomorrow,"

_She's out of her mind_, he thought darkly.

"I still don't know what you're getting at..." Michiru said.

Shana sighed.

"Oh well... If you really want to be close to her... It's your choice anyway... Just don't regret it one day if she shatters you hear into a million pieces,"

She turned around, leaving the room, but Michiru called after her. Shana turned around with a grumpy look on her face.

"What is it?" Shana said angrily.

"I should be the one asking you!" Michiru said, feeling his temper rising already, "What on earth are you talking about?"

Shana sighed.

"Right. I know that you're starting to fall for Wilhelmina already, and I can't really blame you for that. She's quite pretty and she'll attract guys who like soft-looking girls. But, I just came to give you a warning,"

Michiru did not register what Shana said at the end. He was more focused on what she said at the very beginning. Fall for Wilhelmina... Is he really falling in love with her? It may be true. He was starting to feel uneasy whenever he looked at her, or being alone with her...

"OI!" Shana shouted, making Michiru jump.

"Sorry, lost in thought," He apologized.

"Listen to me; you cannot win her heart, no matter what," Shana pressed on.

"What do you-?" Michiru began, but Shana quickly cut across him.

"It means: She will never love you. Got it?"

Michiru had a sensation of someone banging the back of his head with a frying pan.

"What are you talking about?" He said, a look of confusion and disbelieving on his face. "W-Why do you say that?"

Shana took a deep breath and continued, "You probably don't know about it- no- you definitely don't know about it,"

Michiru wanted to ask what he did not know, but decided to keep his mouth shut and let Shana continue.

"But... before I tell you, I want you to swear to me that you will not mention this person in front of her,"

Michiru paused a while before responding, "Okay,"

"Years ago, Wilhelmina and I lived at the Tendokyuu with-" Shana began, but-

"Hold on!" Michiru interrupted, which made Shana very angry, "What's a Tendokyuu?"

"Tendokyuu is an enormous Hougu where Wilhelmina, Merihim and I stay. Any pointless questions you wanna ask before I continue?" Shana said, trying to control herself not to hit Michiru on the head. She wondered why he was attractive to most girls when she sees him as an irritating idiot, even more irritating thatn Yuji sometimes.

"Yeah," Michiru said, and Shana suddenly wished that she had not spoken the last sentence. "What's a... errr... Hougu?"

"Hougu are magical objects which can provide special abilities or even an Unrestricted Spell. A Treasure Tool is created when a single Denizen and a human, each representing their own world, has the same desire to one another; if worked out with the right Unrestricted Spells & physical materials, a Treasure Tool for the sole purpose of fulfilling that desire will be created. Most Denizens, Flame Hazes, and even humans who aid them, possess one or more of these, and would try to acquire as many as they can for many reasons, like getting an upper hand in critical time during battles. And... enough questions..."

"Okay, please continue. So... what happened at... errrr... Tendokyuu?"

"Well, at there, she fell in love with a Guze no Tomogara by the name of Merihim, the Niji no Tsubasa. However, Merihim does not love her at all, for he was too devoted for Mathilde, the previous Enpatsu Shakugan no Uchite,"

"Enpatsu... Hey, isn't that you?"

Shana groaned.

"Well, I took over the title from the previous Flame Haze who has the title..."

"So she was -?"

"She's dead,"

"I see..."

"So..." Shana continued, "Merihim refused to let Wilhelmina approach him with her feelings. He told her that the reason they were together was merely because Mathilde entrusted him to tutor me when she dies, and nothing else. I bet he hurt her feelings really deeply,"

Michiru could not help feeling anger boiling inside him.

"That b****rd..." He muttered, "I'm gonna kick his ass..."

Shana grinned and said, "He's gone already, you won't be able to do it no matter how much you want to?"

"So he left Wilhelmina, huh? Idiot guy... Where the hell is he now?"

"You misunderstood me," Shana said, "He's dead too,"

"Great..." Michiru murmured, "Just awesome..."

"And Merihim has never shown any sign of liking Wilhelmina until the end of his life. That means-" Shana said.

"He never loved her," Michiru finished the sentence.

Shana nodded.

"Wilhelmina never wanted to talk about him. She always looked like she was about to cry or break anything she's holding whenever I mention about him. So I gave up telling her not to dwell on him. I guess that's how it felt like to have your heart broken so deeply till it's beyond fix.

"Wilhelmina has been acting all emo and everything when Merihim rejected her. That was when it started. Then when he was dead it became even worse,"

She paused, and then continued, her tone getting more serious.

"I'm starting to think that it's becoming even worse recently,"

"Huh? Why?"

"Because of... you,"

"Me? What do you mean? I made her-"

"I know you're trying everything to cheer her up, cause you don't like to see her being emotional and everything, but..."

"But I'm doing a poor job?"

"Not really... It's more like... Wilhelmina can't forget about her past. Anything you do will be pointless,"

"Then... isn't there anything we can-?"

"There is one thing _you_ can do: Stay away from her,"

"What? Are you out of your mind?"

"I'm not. I'm starting to think that Wilhelmina is thinking about her past even more that before. And the reason is that your actions reminded her of her painful past,"

"What have I done, then?"

"What you _have_ done, that is the past, and there's no way you can change that. But, the thing you can change is what you're _going_ to do. Know what I mean?"

Michiru did not answer. He knew what Shana was getting at. The date.

"You're trying to break us up?" Michiru said, rather rudely.

"I'm doing this for your own good! And by 'your' I mean Wilhelmina's as well! You know that she'll never love you, so all that you're doing now will have no effect on her! She's given her heart to Merihim. He broke it beyond repair. There's nothing you can do," Shana said, very quickly. "Leave her alone now before she breaks yours too, although you don't have one. She's going to hurt you deeply, I'm sure, if you continue to try and form a closer relationship with her. Retreat now before it's too late,"

Michiru looked at the floor. A moment later he said, "It's not fair..."

"I know it's not. Nothing's fair in life. But if you've fallen in love with her... Hey, you haven't, have you?"

Michiru did not know what to answer. Fallen in love? Maybe not yet... But he had feelings for her. The tension every time he looked at her or being alone with her...

"I'm falling. But I haven't reach the bottom, " He replied in a joking manner.

"So you should cling onto something and prevent yourself from hitting the bottom, then,"

Michiru sighed.

"So she's never gonna fall in love again, huh? Once bitten, twice shy..."

"Right... I think I'm going to sleep already... I'm not forcing you to cancel your date with her tomorrow, it's your choice. But you should come up with the one which both of you benefit, don't you think?"

"Meaning I should leave her alone from now on? Sorry, I can't,"

"I'm not asking you to leave her alone completely. Just don't go starting a relationship with her, that's all. You won't succeed. I'm tired now. I'm going to sleep. Good night,"

And she left the room. Michiru lay on his bed and looked up at the ceiling, lost in thought.

"Does that mean..." He said to himself, "Wilhelmina is... feeling pain right now? Every time she sees me she is reminded of a terrible past? No wonder... No wonder she looks all poignant all the time... Should I... really... leave her alone...? For our benefits?"

He turned around a few times, and before he knew it, before he could make a decision as to whether he would still be going out with Wilhelmina the next day, he had fallen asleep.


	22. Icecream

Ryosuke: Disclaimer: Both neither I nor Michiru does not does not not own Shakugan no Shana, and it does not carry the opposite meaning. As if…. NOT!

Chapter 22 – Ice-cream

Michiru's phone alarm rang seven times before he heard it, and he sprang out of bed immediately. He was over the moon. He would be going out on a date with Wilhelmina!

He had completely forgotten about Shana's warning. He headed downstairs to realize that someone had prepared breakfast for him. Two pieces of black bread with butter had been placed on a clean plate. A glass of cold milk was placed beside it. His mood lifted even more. Wilhelmina had made breakfast for him.

Michiru glanced around. Wilhelmina was nowhere to be seen. Where could she be? Looking back at the table, he took a piece of bread and almost choked. Wilhelmina must have put the bread into the toaster oven for a too long time and burnt it. _So that's how it got its black colour...I thought it was some kinda special bread... _ Michiru thought bitterly.

It seemed that Wilhelmina even had difficulty to make toasted bread. Maybe she really was such a bad cook? Her cooking yesterday was not so bad, but then again he helped her a lot during that time.

He wondered what to do with the bread. By throwing it away he would be wasting food and Wilhelmina's effort. By eating it... he tried not to think about that. Burnt toasted bread was not really inedible, but to burn it like _that_...

He chucked the two pieces of bread out of the window immediately. He knew he would hurt Wilhelmina deeply if she had seen it.

Michiru took his glass of milk and eyed it carefully, saw that nothing was unusual about the cold milk, and drank it slowly. At least there was nothing wrong with the milk, he told himself. He did not need to pour the milk into the sink and hurt her for a second time.

And the word 'hurt' seemed to have triggered a memory in him. He put the glass on the table, his memory returning. Shana had told him to stay away from Wilhelmina. If only it were that easy...

Yuji Sakai walked into the dining hall, a sleepy look on his face. He yawned and greeted Michiru with a barely audible "Good morning". Then he sat down opposite him.

"Hey, Yuji..." Michiru said, his tone a little serious. He had some questions to ask Yuji, and they could probably lead to answers as to why Shana was determined to make him stay away from Wilhelmina. He had an idea.

"Yeah?" Yuji mumbled, scratching his hair.

"Did Wilhelmina do anything to you and Shana? You know... err... interfering with your relationship or something?"

"Huh? There's nothing going on between Shana and me, okay?"

Michiru raised his eyebrows.

"So... there's nothing going on with you. Does Wilhelmina know that?"

Yuji took a while to respond.

"She might have gotten the wrong idea... But I don't think so... I don't think she thinks that way,"

"So why is she trying to break you up?"

"I think I know what you're trying to say... And Carmel-san isn't breaking us up,"

"She's not? But, then..."

"She actually wanted to kill me back then when they first met me,"

"Kill you? When you were still human?"

"Ummm... I mean... destroy me, more like. I was a Mystes already,"

"But why would she want to do that?"

"The Bal-Masque... They were searching for me, going to capture me then use me for something. Carmel-san thinks that destroying me could solve everything,"

"So instead of protecting you she's trying to kill you, huh? I didn't know Wilhelmina was like that..."

"But Shana refused to let her do so. She won't let her kill me. I bet Carmel-san was angry,"

"For what?"

"Beats me... Flame Haze stuff. I don't understand either..."

Michiru folded his arms.

"Girls get jealous easily, don't they? Is Shana-chan one of them? Is she a girl who gets jealous easily?"

"Maybe a little, I guess..."

"Right... Thanks, dude,"

Michiru drained his glass of milk when Yuji spoke.

"You seem to be facing the same thing as I did,"

"Such as being pushed into the fire without knowing?"

"Kinda... First, the four Mystes were searching for you, then the Bal Masque..."

"Then Wilhelmina Carmel is Shana-chan, and vice versa, right?"

"Huh?"

"I know what you're trying to say. This time Wilhelmina's been protecting me, while Shana-chan's aiming for my head. Exactly the opposite of how they treat you,"

Yuji suddenly looked angry.

"Shana isn't going to kill you,"

Michiru shrugged.

"Okay... I admit 'aiming for my head' is a little harsh. But now I know why she hated me ever since Day One,"

"I don't think she hates you,"

"I wouldn't bet on that... Although maybe a small part of her accepted me as her acquaintance or something... But I guess what irritated most is this: Wilhelmina doing the same thing as she did. Wilhelmina dared to kill you, but Shana-chan didn't dare, because she needed her. That's why she's angry. Wilhelmina could do the stuff, but she couldn't,"

"Aren't you jumping into conclusions?"

"I doubt that. Now I know why she's asking me to stay away from her. I know everything now,"

Michiru stood up and walked towards the living room.

"Cancel the date?" He muttered to himself darkly, "In your dreams, evil girl,"

He paced up and down the living room, thinking about what Shana would do to break them up. Would she go beyond all measures? Or would she know when stop?

Suddenly, the front door opened and Wilhelmina walked inside.

"Morning," Michiru greeted, "Where've you been?"

Wilhelmina shook her head, not wanting to tell him, and the latter did not press on the matter.

"Shall we... go now?" Wilhelmina said softly.

Michiru nodded and said, "As you wish,"

Soon, they were walking down the streets, headed for the funfair. Michiru tried to strike up a conversation, but all he could think of was questions about Shana. Should he talk to her about it? Or should he talk about something else? Afterall, there _was_ one thing he wanted to talk about.

"Hey, ummm... Wilhelmina?"

Wilhelmina turned to look at him. Michiru cleared his throat.

"Do you still remember the warning Zeus sent us? Asking me not to use my powers?"

Wilhelmina nodded.

"Do you think we should trust him?"

Wilhelmina turned to stare at some children running happily. Then she said, "Certain precautions must be taken,"

"You don't think that he could be lying, then? You never thought that maybe this... Kuvestar sent him to lie to us? Because he's... maybe he's afraid of my powers or something? And he doesn't want me to use on him, so he-"

"Your powers... Can you control your powers?"

"I don't think so... I can't really do it. I don't really know what my powers are... Although... I manage to make my Flame appear for Shana so she could restore the city, and I don't really remember how I did it,"

Wilhelmina pursed her lips.

"Zeus told you not to make your Flame appear, right?" She said.

"Because Kuvestar won't gain my ability if I conceal it. But if I use it and he touches me... I dunno... I've been thinking whether if we should really trust him..."

Wilhelmina did not say anything as they continued walking. Michiru spoke again.

"If we were to engage in a combat now, should I use them?"

Wilhelmina shook her head and said, "I don't think you should. Besides, you're with me. I can deal with our enemies,"

"You're saying that I shouldn't use it no matter what?"

She nodded.

"Not even when you're in danger?"

Wilhelmina stopped walking abruptly. The question seemed to have shocked her, and she could not find an answer to that.

"I... don't know..." She said finally, not looking at Michiru.

"I feel bad about it..." Michiru said, "I have the powers. I want to protect you. I don't want to stand there and do nothing and just look on while you're facing dangers,"

Wilhelmina bit her lips. She felt touched, but did not feel like expressing it out. Michiru then put his hand on her shoulder.

"I'll protect you, no matter what. But let's not talk about this for now," He said, "We should get going,"

Wilhelmina nodded and they continued walking, this time, in silence. Michiru dared not talk about anything else, in case he dampened her mood; Wilhelmina hardly talks unless necessary.

"We're here," Michiru said as they arrived. Fortunately, the place was not as crowded as he anticipated, although quite noisy. He went to the coupon booth and got some coupons.

"Right... We should go play something," He said, holding her hand a leading her towards a stand where a row of candles were placed on a table. It took Wilhelmina seconds to realize that he was holding her hand and dragging her. She quickly released her hand from his.

"Hey, sir, wanna give it a go?" The guy asked.

"How do we play this?" Michiru asked.

The guy handed Michiru a small water gun. "Well, you stand there," He pointed at a spot, "And you try to extinguish the candles with this gun,"

Michiru turned towards Wilhelmina, "Sounds fun. How 'bout we try it?"

"Okay..." Wilhelmina said softly.

Michiru handed the guy some coupons. Then he tried out the game. Surprisingly, he managed to extinguish six out of twelve candles before the water in the gun ran out. The guy gave him some candies as a prize.

"Your turn," Michiru said, smiling, handing Wilhelmina the water gun. Wilhelmina took it, stood at the spot which Michiru once stood, and shot the water at the candles. Being a Flame Haze, she had no trouble in extinguish the candles. By the time all twelve candles had been put out, the gun was still half full with water. The guy's eyes were as round as the full moon.

"Wow, miss! That has to be a record! Oh my god I've never seen such ability... Here..." He handed Michiru the grand prize, ten coupons and said, "Thanks for playing! You must be really lucky to have such a capable girlfriend, sir!" He said and laughed.

Before Michiru could protest that Wilhelmina was not his girlfriend, the Banjou no Shite had walked away and was looking at some fishes in a tank. Michiru walked towards her.

"Hello, wanna catch some fish?" Another guy came and spoke to them.

"Catch fish?" Michiru asked.

"With this," The guy showed him a net made with paper. "You're supposed to catch the fish without breaking the paper,"

"I don't think it's possible to do that," Michiru said.

"I'll show you," The guy said, grinning broadly. He sunk the net slowly into the tank and managed to scoop up a fish. "See? Impossible is nothing!"

Michiru rolled his eyes. "Alright," He said, handing him a coupon, "I'll give it a go,"

But three seconds later after the net was immersed into the water, it broke.

"Ah , too bad. Wanna try again?" The guy asked.

"Nah, I'll pass," Michiru said, then turned towards Wilhelmina, "But I guess you'll wanna try it?"

Wilhelmina nodded. Michiru handed the guy a coupon while the latter handed her the net.

"Right," Michiru said through gritted teeth, "Show that guy you can do it,"

Wilhelmina managed to catch a fish, but when she scooped it up, the paper broke and the fish dropped back down into the tank.

"Aww man..." Michiru said, "Never mind, then, let's go play something else,"

He brought her to play many games, the one he enjoyed the most was the game which one throws the ball and try to knock the stacked tins. They also won some prizes. By afternoon they won some candy, an enormous slab of chocolate, a pink bunny doll (which Michiru refused to carry along with him) and a miniature of Oda Nobunaga.

They were about to get some ice-cream when Wilhelmina felt a sudden dizziness. She stopped abruptly, stifling a grunt and holding her temple.

"What's wrong?" Michiru asked.

"Nothing," She replied, removing her hand from her forehead. She acted as if nothing had happened, but Michiru refused to let her act tough. He brought her to an empty bench.

"Here, sit down," Michiru said, "Don't go anywhere else. I'll go get some ice cream,"

A minute later he was queuing in front of an ice-cream van. He cursed under his breath for the long queue. The weather was a little hot, so many people came to get ice-cream.

"Hello, mister, what would you like to have?" The girl asked when it was his turn to order.

"Ermm..." Michiru paused awhile. He had not asked Wilhelmina what flavour she favoured, so he said simply, "One chocolate and one vanilla, regular size,"

"Okie-dokie," The girl said, giving him a wink. Michiru handed her some coupons when the ice-creams were ready. He hurriedly returned to Wilhelmina, who was sitting alone silently on the bench.

"Sorry for the wait," He said apologetically, handing her the vanilla ice-cream "The queue was very long,"

Wilhelmina merely shook her head, meaning that she did not mind waiting, and took the ice-cream from him, licking slowly.

"Vanilla is alright for you?" Michiru asked, sitting down beside her, "I didn't know what flavour you preferred,"

"This tastes good," Wilhelmina replied.

Michiru gave a sigh of relieve and said, "I'm glad," He was worried that Wilhelmina might not like it, but then again he hardly heard her complaining.

Once again, silence enveloped them. Michiru looked at Wilhelmina. She was licking her ice-cream while staring on the floor. Then his focus fell on her hands. She put her hand on the gap between them. Michiru felt his heart sink- if he had one-, her hand was at a spot which seemed to be signalling him to hold it. Was it coincidence that her hand was there? Or did she want him to hold her hand, but did not want to express it?

He looked at her again, this time focusing on her eyes. She was staring at the floor with a sad expression. An expression filled with mystery; an expression which made Michiru feel that he was dealing with the unknown. What did the silence and the sadness mean?

He did not know what made him do it, but her eyes seemed to have hypnotized him. He was already positioning his hand on top of hers before he even knew what happened. Wilhelmina gasped and looked at him. Only then did he realize what he had done. He quickly removed his hand from hers.

"I- I- I- I- I just..." He stammered, quickly turning away and looking around. "I err..."

Via the corner of his eye he saw some ice-cream on Wilhelmina's nose. That seemed to be his saviour. "Well... I'm just telling you that you've got ice-cream on your nose,"

Wilhelmina quickly wiped it away on her sleeve, her cheeks turning slightly red.

"Errr..." Michiru said, handing her the ice-cream, "Would you like to... try this one?"

Wilhelmina took it from him and took a few bites. Then she handed him the vanilla one.

"You should try this too..." She said shyly.

"Huh? No, it's okay; I had that one before-"

But Wilhelmina thrust the ice-cream into his hand, making him fall silent.

"Err... Thanks?"

Wilhelmina did not answer him, but merely looked at him, her eyes telling him to try out her ice-cream. Michiru licked it. He suddenly felt funny. The taste was completely different from what he had tasted last time. Was he imagining things? Or was it because it has Wilhelmina's saliva on it? (ewww...)

He quickly swapped back the ice-creams and ate it quickly. He did not know why, but he felt that he wanted to finish it quickly and get out of the bench. Finally he finished. Wilhelmina was only halfway through her ice-cream.

Michiru stood up and said, without glancing at Wilhelmina, "Washroom. I need to go clean my hands,"

He quickly left, unable to stand the tension growing inside him. Once inside the washroom he washed his face, breathing heavily.

"Calm down," He told his reflection in the mirror, "Don't act like this. You've never been like this in front of girls. Don't freak out. Just go back and treat as if nothing happened,"

He walked towards the exit of the toilet and sighed. Dating Wilhelmina Carmel was as hard as understanding her.


	23. Amazing Kiss

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana.

Wilhelmina: Happy rabbit year ~ de arimasu!

Elmer Fudd: It's wabbit season!

Bugs Bunny: Duck season!

Daffy Duck: Rabbit season!

Bugs Bunny: Duck season!

Donald Duck: Super Mario!

Ryosuke: Would you guys just shut up! Cause Michiru wants to say his thing, alright?

Michiru: Ahem… Yo minna! Sorry for not uploading for so long. There has been many distractions here, and as a result I lost my inspiration. That is, until I visited a Wilhelmina Hentai page that I finally got back my inspiration. I thought this chapter wasn't half bad. Hope you all enjoy it, please read and review. ^_^

Chapter 23 – Amazing Kiss

Twelve hours before Michiru Akenabe took Wilhelmina Carmel on a date, Nottes Kuvestar was sitting on the throne-like chair when suddenly came a knock on the door.

"Enter," Kuvestar said, rising up to greet his guest. A figure walked in.

"Ah..." Kuvestar exclaimed, his voice suddenly dream-like "Finally you have arrived. I have been waiting for a long time... Kaijin Sabrac,"

Sabrac eyed at Kuvestar.

"What are your orders?" He asked.

"Now, now, not so soon. Don't be so formal alright?" Kuvestar said in a light tone, "Sit down and have a drink, we'll talk slowly."

He snapped his fingers. A table, two chairs and a dozen cans of beer zoomed out of nowhere. The table fell in front of them perfectly, the chair in place at opposite directions and the cans lined up beautifully on the table.

"Have a seat," Kuvestar said, he himself getting his backside on the chair closer to him.

Sabrac did not move, he merely looked at Kuvestar with his arms folded.

"Ah, c'mon," Kuvestar said, still in his dreamy tone, "This is how I entertain my guests, don't be rude,"

He picked up a can of beer and opened it. The sound of gas rushing up the can could be heard. He took a sip.

"Ahhhh..." He said happily, "What could be better than a nice, cold can of beer? Sit down now, my friend, while we discuss our plans on how to destroy the world!"

Sabrac still did not move.

"Get to the point, or I shall make my leave," He said coldly.

"Oh no..." Kuvestar said, "It seems like I have a stubborn guest who doesn't like the way I greet him. Hmmm... Alright then, I'll cut to the chase, but please, have a seat,"

Sabrac finally sat in front of him, but he did not grab any beer.

Kuvestar had already finished his first can of beer. He wiped his mouth and began, "So, it all starts with a Mystes which goes by the nickname Golden, or the Flame of Everlasting. Have you ever heard about it? IF you have, then you have got to be one of the few that do."

"A Mystes who can hide his Power of Existence and his Flame burns eternally, in addition to unparallel combat powers? I've heard... But that being is only a myth," Sabrac said. "It had never existed,"

Kuvestar chuckled. "Myth, you say? Maybe you're just jealous that he has better stealth ability than you. Then again, I hate to break this to you buddy, but I have found out that this so called non-existed being actually... existed."

Kuvestar paused, probably expecting Sabrac to ask something, but he did not, so he continued, "Michiru Akenabe is now Golden, but of course, you probably don't know who he is,"

Sabrac still never said anything. He was starting to feel bored, with Kuvestar droning on and on about a myth. Maybe he should just leave. He was wasting his time.

"But... you do know a young lady who has purplish-pink hear and wears a purple maid costume whatever the situation is wherever she goes?"

This made Sabrac stand up.

"Banjou no Shite, Wilhelmina Carmel," He said, his tone coarse.

"Yes, however, please sit down," Kuvestar said, "There's no need to be so emotional."

"You want me to kill her?" Sabrac said.

"Now, now, now, I know there's bad blood between the both of you, but, let me finish my story first."

"As I told you, Golden's Power of Existence is inside a Mystes whose name is Michiru Akenabe. And this guy seems to have a rather intimate relationship with Wilhelmina Carmel." Kuvestar said slowly, "My source tells me that, twelve hours from now, Golden will take Wilhelmina Carmel out on a date at the fun-fair.

"So, I have hatched up a brilliant plan which benefits the both of us. You get payback on your enemy, while I get more power."

"Power?"

"Golden's powers. I cannot obtain it without him revealing his power of existence. And I know you can do it."

"And how would you obtain his powers?"

Kuvestar smiled. He got up, walked towards Sabrac and patted him on the shoulder. Then he brandished a blade out of nowhere. That blade proved to be...

"That... is... my blade!" Sabrac said, shocked at what he had seen.

"Yep, that's how I can obtain powers. Just by touching a Flame Haze, Mystes or Tomogara, I get to use his powers to the full potential. Dangerous and Imbalanced, aren't I?"

Sabrac gaped at Kuvestar. He was amazed. Kuvestar could gain so much power one touch away. All this time he thought he was the imbalanced one, and now he had met and was about to team up with another being ten times more imbalanced than him. He liked where things were heading. He would get his revenge on Wilhelmina Carmel. He would even probably destroy this stupid world with Kuvestar.

"I will do as you say. So what is your plan?" Sabrac said plainly.

Kuvestar smiled and said, "Wonderful,"

"First, I'll setup a special Fuzetsu. It's presence cannot be felt and it cannot be seen even by Flame Hazes, unless you're inside it, of course. So, I want you to be there before I set it up. This could prevent unnecessary interference, especially that idiot Arken Varles.

"Then, you shall attack Wilhelmina Carmel. Golden would try to protect her, but still without revealing his Power of Existence. Pretend to be aiming at Golden so she would take the brunt from him. Wound her badly, cause her enough pain, and Golden would awaken his powers already. You can kill her, that's fine with me, although I doubt that you can,"

"What do you mean by I can't kill her?"

"You'll know soon enough. And once Banjou no Shite is in mortal peril, Golden will definitely awaken his powers. He loved her; he'd do anything to protect her. Love can make a man go crazy, and Michiru Akenabe is one. Also, fail your sneak attack on purpose. I know the previous time you attempted it against her, it really didn't go smooth, so I guess it wouldn't be that hard to make a bad sneak attack on purpose, right?"

Sabrac snorted. Kuvestar had finished his final can of beer. He slammed it on the table.

"I am a Mystes. I do not have much time left, for my Power of Existence is running out. I used to have a lot more Mystes comrades, all of them used up the Power of Existence and disappeared forever in vain. Except one girl, who became a Flame Haze and went to the good side. I shall hunt her down and torture her before I kill her." Kuvestar continued, suddenly sounding serious. "I hate weaklings. All those weak, powerless humans... They all think that they're the best in everything. They're the smartest of all beings... How very wrong they were. All they do is live for a short eighty years and die, leaving regrets for those dear to them, and then, give them a hundred years later, their existence would be forgotten eternally. I shall cease their pain! I shall save the world! I shall wipe away the existence of everything!"

He smacked the table and it crashed onto the wall. Twelve opened cans fall onto the floor.

"And now, for the rest of the plan, do as I say, and we shall create the new world when you succeed." Kuvestar said with a gleam in his eye. "It's all up to you now to decide the fate of this world. Good luck."

...

Michiru walked back towards the bench, trying not to look too timid or unnatural. Wilhelmina was apparently asleep when he reached there. Her head was a little lopsided. Should he approach her? He was still having the after-effects of the embarrassment, but he knew he had to wake her up anyways, since they had to go home together. Maybe she was just pretending to be asleep...

He sat beside her slowly. After taking a deep breath, he spoke, "Wilhelmina,"

She did not reply.

"Wilhelmina," he repeated, but still got no response.

"Is she really sleeping or is she such a good actor?" Michiru thought darkly. He decided to touch her arm and gave her a little shake.

Wilhelmina finally stirred, but there was something funny about her. She only opened her eyes a little. "Michiru..." she said in a voice that was so weak; Michiru felt his heart melt. Then her eyelids drooped and her head fell to the side.

"Wilhelmina? Are you okay?" Michiru asked. He touched her forehead and nearly jumped.

"You're head's boiling!" He almost shouted, "Wilhelmina, you're having a fever!"

Wilhelmina did not move. He felt guilty. He knew she was feeling uncomfortable, yet he did not take her back to rest immediately. He even gave her the ice-cream that might worsen her condition, in addition to leaving her alone for that five minutes, in which anything could happen during such a short span of time.

Meanwhile, someone was observing them from a high ground.

"Fever, huh?" The person said with a chuckle, "That could make my job much easier. Now all I gotta do is wait for Kuvestar's signal."

And Kuvestar's "signal" did come immediately. A Fuzetsu that covered around the area which could not be felt or seen no matter who or what you are if you are outside it.

"Here I come, Banjou no Shite," Sabrac said, Kuvestar's brilliant plan repeating in his mind.

Michiru gasped as he looked around. Everyone stopped moving. The sky turned into a crimson red.

"Wilhelmina, the Fuzetsu has been set up!"

Wilhelmina pulled his shirt with such a force that he turned to look at her.

"Run..." she said.

"What?" Michiru stammered, "But... I... I can't! I can't leave you here, you're..."

"Run..." Wilhelmina said again, cutting in.

"Why?"

Michiru's answer came almost without delay.

He saw a shining red light on the floor right where he was standing. Suddenly he felt some ribbons closing down on his arm and subsequently the rest of his body. He was wrapped in a ribbon-cocoon. Sabrac emerged from the ground and slashed at it. It broke, but Michiru was no longer inside it, but magically transported to the rear of Wilhelmina.

Sabrac looked at their direction after his failed sneak attack.

"Banjou no Shite, Wilhelmina Carmel... So we meet again,"

"Kaijin... Sabrac..." Wilhelmina said slowly, not keeping her eyes off one of her most hated enemies.

"What the... hell is that?" Michiru said in a half-asking manner.

"Kaijin Sabrac... A rather imbalanced Guze no Ou... I have fought him many times. And once... I was almost killed by him..".

"What do you mean by 'imbalanced'?" Michiru asked.

"You'll know soon enough," Sabrac interrupted.

He blasted millions of red lasers at their direction. Wilhelmina pulled Michiru out of the way with her ribbons and she herself leapt out of the way as well.

Sabrac was whispering to himself, "Hmm... The maid will protect the boy no matter what. I can't believe how much Kuvestar knows about this."

He charged at them, aiming a slash at Michiru, but Wilhelmina conjured her ribbon into a shield and moved in front of Michiru, managing to block the attack. Michiru put his arm on her shoulder.

"Wilhelmina, don't push yourself too hard..." He said, "Let me help you,"

Wilhelmina, however, shook her head.

"You are not strong enough to fight this one. Leave him to me,"

"But... You're feeling dizzy! You're not in any condition to fight!"

Wilhelmina ignored him. She felt that Sabrac was being as weird as her head is. His battle style was so wrong. He uses a wide area of attack for his first one, which was a sneak attack. That one was to increase the chances of a Flame Haze getting hit by his attack. Next, his ability, Stigma came into the spotlight. It could open up wounds even further, distract the enemy, while he could take his own sweet time, wait for the wound to open up a lot more, weaken his enemy and kill them effortlessly. But right now, he seemed to be aiming at one enemy even at the beginning of his battle...

A sudden jolt of pain in her head told her that Michiru was right – she was indeed in no condition to battle. She should move around, dodge Sabrac's attacks, and wait for help to come.

Somehow, Sabrac seemed to be able to read her mind.

"You won't run away from me anymore, you weakling. Nobody will come and help you. Nobody will interfere. Just you and I. And finally I can kill you once and for all.

Wilhelmina clenched her teeth, and then made a break for it. Michiru was not expecting it, and he nearly fell off.

She was feeling scared. Sabrac did not seem like the one who tells lies just to instill fear on his opponents. He was just as fearful himself. What did he mean by no one would come and interfere? Wouldn't Shana and the others notice a Fuzetsu being set up? There were five Flame Hazes in this city. Either one would have noticed it. Unless... Sabrac had killed them all? Not possible.

"Wilhelmina..." Michiru thought to himself as Sabrac chased behind them. "I don't want to slow you down... I want to help you, to protect you... But..."

He suddenly remembered her little conversation with her before he brought her here. Now that he thought about it, it seemed ages away, due to the fact that so much had happened in such a short time.

"_If we were to engage in a combat now, should I use them?"_

_Wilhelmina shook her head and said, "I don't think you should. Besides, you're with me. I can deal with our enemies,"_

"_You're saying that I shouldn't use it no matter what?"_

_She nodded._

"_Not even when you're in danger?"_

Wilhelmina, look out!" he shouted, as another wave of lasers zoomed at them. Wilhelmina took a quick turning into a back alley after realising it, but, alas, she was not fast enough. One of the lasers made contact with her back, leaving a cut and some blood flowed out from the wound. Wilhelmina let out a gasp of pain. She stopped and her ribbons loosened their grip on Michiru.

"Wilhelmina..." Michiru said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"I will be okay," Wilhelmina said, turning around to see that Sabrac was still not hot on their trail. "I have found a cure for the Stigma. This wound should clear."

"Stigma?" Michiru asked.

Wilhelmina wrapped some ribbons around the wound and explained, "Sabrac's Power of Unrestraint, the Stigma, causes all wounds he inflicts to increase in size over time. This spell built for battle is fatal for most targets, and even if he/she might be strong, the target's fate is unsure, and even if have survived, the piling amount of wounds will eventually bring Sabrac his victory."

Michiru gasped. He saw that her wound had indeed opened even as she spoke.

"Wilhelmina..." He said, "You remember that question that I asked you before we went to the fun fair? About whether or not I should use my powers if you're in trouble. I know I can't really control my powers at will, and I've been warned not to use them, but... you never gave me your answer."

Wilhelmina still ignored his question.

"I have a cure to his Stigma. I shall be okay for now," She said. Some lights which look like gears appear on her ribbons. A few seconds later, she removed them, thinking that the wound might have been healed, but...

"Wilhelmina, the wound is still there!" Michiru said. Wilhelmina gasped as well. She felt the wound open again. Why? Didn't her healing powers work? Could it be because she was too tired? She should try again, concentrate harder this time...

"Wilhelmina..." Michiru suddenly put both his hands on her shoulders, turning her around to face him. "Look at me..." he said.

Wilhelmina looked at those cool blue eyes, and then her vision became a little hazy. She blinked.

"Please, answer my question..." Michiru said, "Stop avoiding it; you can't fight him alone. I... I want to protect you, Wilhelmina."

Then he hugged her. He squeezed her tight in his arms, her head on his chest.

"Please... Let me protect you..."

Wilhelmina felt touched, and then she felt sleepy. Her knees began to wobble, her eyelids drooping once more, but she knew she could not fall asleep now; she had to protect him as much as he wanted to protect her.

"And what's taking Shana-chan and the others so long?" Michiru said worryingly, "They should be able to know what happened and arrived by now."

"Like I said, they won't come. There shall be no unwanted interference," a cold voice rang behind Michiru. He quickly let go of Wilhelmina and turned around.

"What do you mean?" he bellowed, "What's going on here? And why are you after us?"

"This Fuzetsu," Sabrac explicated slowly, "Cannot be seen or felt by anything, Flame Haze or not, unless you're inside it. Which means, the Enpatsu no Shakugan and the rest of the idiots would not know about it, and they shall not come."

"What?" Michiru said, and then he looked at Wilhelmina. She looked just as puzzled. A Fuzetsu untraceable even to Flame Hazes? She had never heard of it.

"Banjou no Shite," Sabrac said again, "You could do well by handing Golden over. You cannot run forever; the Stigma has been set inside you, and you cannot remove it. You'll just end up tiring yourself, and make yourself easier for me to kill. Hand him over, I shall remove the Stigma and spare you this once."

"What do you want from me?" Michiru shouted, but Sabrac ignored him.

"So, Banjou no Shite, how about it? Do we have a deal?" Sabrac asked. Wilhelmina shot him a look that said 'never!', and she made a break for it, ribbons wrapped on Michiru's arm once more.

Sabrac chuckled, "I see... Kuvestar certainly knows a lot about both of them... Seems like everything is going according to plan..."

"ARRRGGGHHH!" Shana screamed, "I can't believe it! That hell of an idiot really took Wilhelmina out! After I just warned him about it! Is his brain located at his backside or what?"

"Hmmm..." Alastor said, "The Mystes had not heeded your advice,"

"I wonder what I should have done to knock some sense into him... His head is thicker than a coconut shell," Shana said angrily.

"There's nothing you can do about that," Yuji said, taking a sip from his canned drink, "Although I think Carmel-san knows what she's doing,"

"Argh!" Shana bellowed, "What the heck! I'm going to go talk to Wilhelmina! I can't believe that she actually..."

Alastor suddenly cut across her.

"Shouldn't you feel happy?"

"What!" Shana cried.

"You ought to feel happy," Alastor repeated, "Wilhelmina Carmel was hurt so badly by Merihim in the past that I thought she would not dare to love again. How very wrong I was..."

"But... But..." Shana stammered, "Alastor! You're supposed to be on my side!"

"There is nothing wrong with Banjou no Shite being together with Golden; you just didn't like Michiru Akenabe," Alastor told her flatly.

"Whatever!" Shana said angrily as she stormed towards the door, "I'm going to find them now!"

Before her hand could reach the handle, however, there came a knock on the door. Puzzled, Shana opened the door. Someone stood outside, his long, black hood covering his face.

"Who are you?" Shana asked rather rudely.

"Don't be shocked," the person said, entering the house without permission; Shana felt there was some familiarity in his voice. He lowered his hood. Shana and Yuji gasped.

"Ryosuke?" Yuji said.

"Yeah," Ryosuke replied, "It's me. Surprised to see me, huh? It's all thanks to you, anyway."

"What? Me? What're you talking about?"

"Uh-huh. You know the time when my hurricane kinda drew you guys in, you somehow awakened some kind of power to save yourselves. Yet this power kind of restored my Flame... You saved my a** too. That's why I'm still right here,"

"What do you want?" Shana finally found her voice.

"It's your couple friend. One of them is going to die in pain while the other one is going to bring doom to this world. We have to save them. And hurry."

Neither Shana nor Yuji moved.

"Why should we trust you?" Shana said.

"Well, if you don't trust me, you can trust those two behind me." Ryosuke said, jerking his thumb backwards. Arken Varles and Elise were standing outside. Then they entered the house as well.

"Arken Varles,"

"Elise,"

"Hey you're that girl that was with us in my school!" Yuji suddenly said.

Elise gave a small nod.

"You might not trust Ryosuke, but you can trust me." She said, looking at Shana directly in the eyes.

Shana finally felt more secured in trusting Ryosuke.

"But I still don't know what's going on," she said defiantly.

"Okay, to put it simply," Ryosuke began, "I was at the correct place at the correct time when Kuvestar casted a special kind of Fuzetsu,"

"Special kind?" Alastor asked.

"Yep," Ryosuke replied, "This Fuzetsu cannot be seen or tracked by anyone except the caster. And by 'anyone' I mean Flame Hazes and Mystes alike. The only way you can find it is by entering it by accident, or being in the place where the Fuzetsu was cast,"

"So you're saying, this Kuvestar casted the Fuzetsu at the place where Michiru and Wilhelmina are now, while coincidentally, you were there?" Shana asked.

"Correct," Arken said in Ryosuke's place, "Kuvestar must have plotted some kind of plan to obtain Golden's powers or something. We're lucky that Ryosuke managed to find out that Kuvestar had casted it, because right now none of us could feel a Fuzetsu being set up somewhere in the city,"

"We're going to save Wilhelmina and Michiru," Elise piped up, "And stop Kuvestar from getting whatever he wants."

"We need your help," Ryosuke said, cutting to the chase.

Shana nodded, and then she stared at Yuji. He bobbed his head too.

"Lead the way," Shana told Ryosuke. The latter smiled.

...

Wilhelmina was starting to feel tired from all that escaping. Her head was dizzier than ever, and the wound at her back acted as a catalyst in making her feeble.

"Wilhelmina..." Michiru told her worryingly, "Please stop. Sabrac's right... You can't run around forever. At this rate you'll tire yourself out and give him a chance to finish you off easier."

Wilhelmina ignored him. She knew he was worried about her, but she did not need a reminder to that... She would not let him fight Sabrac alone. She would protect him until the very end...

Michiru turned to look behind him.

"Hold on... he's not following us anymore..."

Wilhelmina only realized that Sabrac's presence could no longer be found. She had been too busy running away and had not noticed it.

"Could he be gone?" Michiru asked.

"No," Wilhelmina said certainly, "He must be somewhere, plotting another attack,"

Michiru edged closer to her, ready to shield her anytime. Wilhelmina tried to use her healing again, but to no avail, and it made her feel even weaker.

"Why is it not working?" She said absent-mindedly.

"Wilhelmina, stop doing it. It's not functioning... don't waste your energy unnecessarily..."

"Don't tell me..." She was still talking to herself, "He managed to counter my healing spell?"

"Wilhelmina..." Michiru called her. She looked at him.

"Why won't you let me fight?" he asked.

Wilhelmina stared at the floor with a sad expression on her face.

"I... do not want anything to happen to you..."

"Is that it? You're silly, Wilhelmina... You wasted so much energy..."

"Urgh!" Wilhelmina unexpectedly gave a moan, her knees weakened, and she fell headfirst, but Michiru was quick enough to catch her before her face hit the ground.

"Wilhelmina, are you okay?" he asked, but got no response. Wilhelmina was wheezing in pain. He held her closer to him.

"You foolish girl..." he said. "I'm not worth it..."

Then he began to stroke her hair. He loved the feeling. Her hair might be a little short, but it was still smooth and silky; he might run his fingers through her hair for a whole day if he wanted to...

Out of the blue, Wilhelmina pushed Michiru away. He was taken by surprise and staggered, but what he had seen afterwards could give him the creeps of guilt for the rest of his life...

Wilhelmina Carmel had received the full blast out of Sabrac's huge laser attack. It hit her squarely in the stomach, and she was blasted off her feet and flew a few feet away, landing with a thud and a groan of pain.

Sabrac was standing opposite her, his sword pointing at her direction. He chortled evilly.

"It seems that running around has indeed made her easy to kill, although she has given me a handicap right from the get-go. That lady, she might be brave, but really foolish at the same time... She was not afraid to die protecting the Mystes. But no point... the plan will continue, and she had died in vain. That's one nuisance out of the way. And now, for..."

He turned towards the spot where Michiru once was, but the latter was already sprinting towards Wilhelmina, putting her body on his lap. Blood was gushing out of her mouth and her wound on the stomach. He could feel the wetness of the blood on her back too.

He slapped her cheek lightly, hoping to get some response.

"Wilhelmina..." he said, his tone shaky not showing any confidence, not daring to hope what he had hoped, "Wilhelmina..."

He lowered his head towards her face. Tears rolled out of his cheeks, but he did not bother to wipe them away. If Wilhelmina was gone, he had no point to continue living. He felt that when Zeus had "killed" her, and he had never expected to feel it again so soon. The feeling like the world was going to end; everything was falling into darkness, into nothingness...

He could not let her die. He would not let her die. Not especially die protecting him. How is he going to explain all this to Shana? And why didn't he do anything to protect her?

"Wilhelmina..." he croaked, holding her yet closer to him.

"Mi...chi...ru..." came an unexpected muffled voice. Michiru loosened his grip on Wilhelmina. She managed to open her eyes a little, although she looked rather feeble.

"Wilhelmina!" Michiru gave a cry of relief.

"I... will not... let Sabrac..." Wilhelmina began, but Michiru cut across her. "Don't talk..." he told her, "Save your energy... Don't waste them unnecessarily, you need them..."

Wilhelmina coughed weakly. "Just hang in there..." Michiru pleaded.

For a little while, they stared at each other in silence, Michiru's light blue eyes locking onto Wilhelmina's purple ones. Michiru felt as if he was being sucked into the infinite space of her eyes. Then Wilhelmina, feeling her time was ticking, began to speak.

"Wilhelmina, don't..." Michiru said, but Wilhelmina shook her head. "I... feel... cold..."she said.

"Wilhelmina, please... please don't talk anymore!"

Wilhelmina coughed and said, "I am... dying..."

"Don't say that... you're going to be okay..."

Wilhelmina continued to smile at Michiru, tears now rolling down her cheeks like pearls falling down from a broken necklace. She mustered the final strength she had and touched him on the face. She felt some kind of warmth in her whole body. Warmth she had never felt before.

Then she stopped crying, staring straight into Michiru's eyes as she said, "I... I..."

Michiru felt his heart contract. Somehow he was eager to know what Wilhelmina was trying to say.

"What is it?" he whispered, her body being close to him he felt her breathing getting faster and faster.

"I... am... sorry..."

Then she closed her eyes, her hands slumped away from his face.

"Wilhelmina... no! No! Hang in there!"

But she could not. He knew that himself. Wilhelmina had pushed herself way over the limit that he was lucky this did not happen fifteen minutes ago.

"Hang in there!" Michiru shouted, shaking her. "Wilhelmina, hang in there! I can't lose you! Wilhelmina!"

But Wilhelmina moved no more. He could not feel her breathing. Wilhelmina was now barely an empty shell.

"No!" Michiru screamed, shaking his head. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"_I feel bad about it... I have the powers. I want to protect you. I don't want to stand there and do nothing and just look on while you're facing dangers,"_

These words rang inside Michiru's head as he held Wilhelmina close to him.

"_I'll protect you, no matter what."_

He swooped down his head and kissed her in the lips. He did not know why he did it, almost as if he had meant to do it all along. He would not accept the fact that Wilhelmina was dead. She meant everything to him. More than everything to him... He knew this was no fairy tale, no Snow White and the Prince, no revival with a kiss, no happy endings... He did not dare hope much, but continued to wet her dry lips, but all the same, blocking out the thing he feared most... Be ignorant...

_Wilhelmina... She suffered so much..._ Michiru thought to himself as he continued doing his thing. _She loved him, but that bastard never loved her at all... She got hurt so much... I wanted her to stop feeling like that. I wanted to let her stop lingering on the painful memories of that scum! That's why I wanted to love her. I just want her to be happy..._

Michiru's body suddenly glowed in a golden colour. The golden Flame in his middle section appeared, blazing brightly. Apparently he had not noticed it. Sabrac narrowed his eyes.

Meanwhile, someone hiding somewhere was chuckling sinisterly to himself.

"It seems that there really isn't any flaw in the plan," Kuvestar said, "Golden's powers... are finally mine!"

He zoomed out of nowhere, hands outstretch, aiming the back of Michiru, but...

Ribbons suddenly came out of Wilhelmina without her controlling it. They acted as a barrier for both of them, taking the shape of a hemisphere. Kuvestar, stunned by what had happened, stopped abruptly in midair. A ray of light appeared from the barrier and shot towards the sky, or the Fuzetsu, more like. It turned the colour of the Fuzetsu, red, into golden in less than a nanosecond.

In the interim, Ryosuke, Shana, Yuji, Arken and Elise, flying their way to the fun fair, spotted something strange from quite a distance.

"Look!" Shana called to the others, pointing towards a bright golden hemisphere that looked rather tiny due to the rather long distance between her and it, which was never there a second before.

"What the hell is that?" Yuji said.

"That's a Fuzetsu. No mistake," Arken said.

"I think I know what happened." Ryosuke explained.

"Then shoot," Elise said.

"Well, at first I told you guys that Kuvestar had casted an invisible Fuzetsu. Then this golden Fuzetsu appeared. And from the looks of it, it came from the place right where Kuvestar casted it. I think Golden had activated his powers and Overwrote the Fuzetsu,"

"He changed the Fuzetsu. From an invisible one to a golden one," Arken said, seeing the puzzled look from the face of Yuji and Shana.

"That means that Michiru-kun has activated his powers?" Shana asked.

"It seems so," Ryosuke said, "And we have to hurry. I think this might be what Kuvestar had plotted... or not..."

At last they reached the top of the Fuzetsu. Neither one of them could see anything inside it.

"Seems like we have to go in, huh?" Ryosuke said. "Might be dangerous, but I guess I'll go in first,"

"No." Arken said firmly.

"What you're concerned about me or something?" Ryosuke joked.

"In case this is part of a plan you cooked up to trap us." Arken said. "I'll head in first. And come out immediately when I know it is safe inside. But if I don't come out in five minutes' time, buy me a casket, alright? Here I go."

He took a deep breath and plunged in.

"The hell... Still don't trust me, you guys. Shucks to be the betrayer." Ryosuke mumbled to himself.

Then he entered it.

"Wait!" Elise shouted, but too late. She gave a groan, and headed inside as well, leaving Shana and Yuji outside.

"Should we really head in?" Yuji asked, "Is it safe?"

"Since everyone has headed in, I'm not going to chicken out. Let's go inside too," Shana said simply.

Yuji gulped, but nodded his head. Shana held his hand and dashed into the Fuzetsu. They saw Ryosuke (who lowered his hood), Arken and Elise standing in a row in front of them, looking at something.

"Wha-?" Shana asked, but Arken quickly turned around and shushed her.

"Keep quiet," he whispered. "They still don't know we're here."

Shana and Yuji looked at somewhere below. A ribbon barrier was on the ground, Kuvestar and Sabrac were examining it.

Shana gasped, "Kaijin Sabrac!"

"Keep your voice down, miss!" Ryosuke hissed.

"What the f**k..." Kuvestar was complaining, down below. "Golden is hidden in there. This hell barrier..."

"Just destroy it, then," Sabrac said as a-matter-of-factly.

"Kuvestar brandished a sword out of nowhere. And this made Shana gasp for a third time. "That's my...!"

"Shut up!" Ryosuke, Elise, Arken, even Yuji and Alastor this time, hissed at her. Shana looked apologetic, but could not help feeling shocked.

Kuvestar had brandished Shana's weapon, the Nietono no Shana. He engulfed the sword with a considerable amount of fiery flame and slashed at it.

The barrier fell into pieces at once, but Michiru and Wilhelmina were no longer in there.

"What the hell!" Kuvestar shouted. He and Sabrac looked around, and spotted Shana and the gang there. He charged at them at once.

Arken and Elise were getting into their battle stances when some ribbons wrapped on their chests and pulled them away from the Fuzetsu. They spun around to see what had happened, and found out that Shana, Yuji and Ryosuke too were being pulled out of the Fuzetsu by a neko-masked Wilhelmina Carmel. Standing beside her was a Michiru with glowing golden eyes. The Golden Flame could be seen burning in his abdomen.

Michiru lifted his sword subconsciously, making it glow with golden light. He pointed it at the Fuzetsu. Then, a beam of light shot down from his sword into the Fuzetsu, making it explode. Two screams could be heard from beyond it, though no one could see what had happened inside.

Everyone was gobsmacked by such display of power that nobody said anything for quite some time. The Fuzetsu slowly disappeared, but the people around the area covered by it seemed to have disappeared as well. Subsequently, Michiru went limp and fainted. Wilhelmina quickly grabbed hold of him. She held him tight to her chest, looking at him with a sad expression on her face. Her eyes seemed glossy; she was on the verge of tears.

Ryosuke seemed to have sneaked onto the ground and came back without anyone noticing him doing it.

"Yo guys. I saw Sabrac's body down there. Seems like he's dead," he said, rubbing his nose, "but I think Kuvestar managed to escape, though. I ain't seen no toenails of him."

He looked around, as if hoping someone to congratulate or thank him, but everyone ignored him completely. So he sighed, kept his hood up and said, "I'll be going, then." And he flew off.

"Impossible..." Shana was still shaking her head in disbelieve, when all of them had landed on the ground, "He destroyed Sabrac just like that... And Sabrac was supposed to be really powerful..."

She turned to look at Michiru, but almost could not find him, as Wilhelmina was already carrying Michiru back home.

"Wilhelmina..." she called, but received no reply. Wilhelmina was still looking at Michiru with the same sad expression that never seemed to leave her face. Shana wondered how Wilhelmina managed to know where she was heading to without looking in front. Then she said to Arken and Elise. "Err..."

"See you around then," Arken said. "We can talk next time, if you have something on your mind. Take a closer eye on your maid friend. Lord knows what happened to her..."

Shana nodded, and she and Yuji hurried to keep up with Wilhelmina.

"You sure you're going to destroy it? Golden, I mean." Arken said to Elise when Shana and Yuji were out of earshot, "You do realize that the lady's life is dependent on the Mystes having its Power of Existence."

"I dunno..." Elise said truthfully, "I guess all we have to do now is to stop Golden from ending up in the wrong hands."

"Without you destroying it." Arken reminded her.

"Wilhelmina..." Shana said again when she walked closer to her, but Wilhelmina seemed to have become a zombie. Yuji shook his head and she decided not to pry on the matter anymore, maybe she would wait until tomorrow. Wilhelmina must have been in a real shock.

When they reached home, Wilhelmina laid Michiru down on the bed carefully. She stared at him for a few seconds with watery eyes before she herself fainted as well.

"Wilhelmina!" Shana cried and she carried Wilhelmina to her room.

"Shana, is she okay?" Yuji asked, poking his head into the room.

"I think she'll be," Alastor replied, "She's merely suffering from exhaustion and shock,"

"She'll be fine when she wakes up, I hope." Shana said. She touched Wilhelmina's forehead and, like Michiru, nearly jumped. "Yuji! Get me some ice cubes! Wilhelmina's having fever!"

Yuji nodded, and went to the kitchen to get some ice cubes, a basin filled with water and a small towel as well.

Meanwhile, back in his hideout, Nottes Kuvestar was fuming with anger. He cursed a lot of vulgar words in different languages.

He thought everything was going to be smooth. He had plotted it all out. Michiru and Wilhelmina were so in love with each other that either one would sacrifice themselves just to protect the other. So he decided to have Sabrac hurt Wilhelmina, in order for Golden to awaken his powers to protect her. On the other hand, Sabrac was asked to pretend to be aiming at Golden, so that Wilhelmina would take the brunt from him.

All of these had worked out for him. The plan was neither as hard nor as easy as he had predicted. What he did not manage to predict was the maid would still be able to interfere after taking so much damage. Which was why he set up the special untraceable Fuzetsu in the first place.

This had made him furious. One f**king maid and her love towards a f**king Mystes turned everything around. His plot had failed, and he had wasted more Power of Existence. His time is running out. Soon he would disappear just like that, without achieving anything, and he would not allow so.

Three Mystes had disappeared. One betrayed him. Sabrac, which he had planned to have him as right-hand man, was dead, too. He had no one to help him now. Just him alone. He would need to hatch a better plan that does not require any battles, Fuzetsus, or any unnecessary actions that might draw attention. With Arken Varles and Elise clogging up his way, and his feeble power of existence which does not allow him to fight full strength, his chance of obtaining Golden's powers before he disappears would be as good as Cleveland Cavaliers winning the Playoffs without LeBron James.

F**k maids. F**k ribbons. He thought bitterly. F**k Ryosuke if I find out that he's the one who gave it all away. F**k funfairs. F**k love. F**k...

Kuvestar suddenly smiled. He seemed to have come up with a new plan again. He chuckled sinisterly. _Now_ he could get one over the stupid maid, and probably finish what his new buddy Sabrac had left off.

"So it seems... that I _am _going to become a God, after all." he said contentedly

HAPPY RABBIT YEAR ~ DE ARIMASU!


	24. Frozen Heart

Chapter 24 – Frozen Heart

Michiru woke up with a start. For a split second he seemed to have lost all of his memories, but it came back a while later. Michiru closed his eyes and scratched his hair, trying to remember what happened most recently.

He took Wilhelmina out to the when she was feeling a little woozy he wanted to bring her back, but Sabrac interrupted and attacked her. Wilhelmina tried to evade Sabrac's attacks while buying some time for help to come, but none really came. She fainted. And he… he hugged her and kissed her.

He smiled at the prospect of kissing the woman he loved, but stopped suddenly. He did not remember what happened next! He tried his best to recover his memories, but to no avail. There was definitely something missing there. He could not have awoken at Yuji's house without a reason.

He glanced at the window and nearly dropped his jaw. It was snowing outside. Snowing! Wasn't it summer when everything happened? How long had he slept? An entire Autumn?

And it seemed that it was not just regular snow. The snow was so high and thick that he could barely see what was out there, except the white snow.

No point staying in the room. He should ask Shana or Yuji about what happened. He opened the door and saw that Shana was already standing outside.

"You're finally awake," She said.

"I know," Michiru said, "I slept for a long time, huh? Where's Wilhelmina? Is she okay? Wait… what happened actually, that day? I remember Sabrac chasing after us, and Wilhelmina took the brunt for me and…"

"Wilhelmina's fine," Shana said, smiling, "She was dead, actually, but you used your powers to revive her, and thanks to you, she's lived in torment for fifty years."

"She's lived in torment? And… what? FIFTY YEARS? What are you talking about!"

"Do you even know how long you slept? Do think you just slept through an entire Autumn? Nuh-uh… it's been half a century since your eyes last opened."

"That's ridiculous!" Michiru nearly shouted.

"It's true." Shana said happily, "You kept on sleeping and sleeping and sleeping… You'd never even thought of her. She was there every single second for you. She took care of you, she worried about you… But it doesn't matter anyway, she could not take it anymore, so she left you, and went to search for a new happiness."

"She left?"

"Yep, a few years ago, Merihim came and took her back. I couldn't really describe how happy she looked when she saw him. So she left you right away and went with him. They've been living in the Tendokyuu since."

"You told me that Merihim was dead!" Michiru exclaimed.

"I did, but it turns out that he was not dead afterall. He kept a part of his existence somewhere. It grows slowly day by day. Very slowly. Then one day he had enough Power of Existence to take on his form again. He searched everywhere for her. He went to every single corner of the world to find her. One day he finally did. And that was the day Wilhelmina finally obtains her happiness."

Michiru was at a loss for words.

"You see now? Your existence merely brought more pain for her. Your actions strongly reminded her of Merihim. Because of you, she nearly sacrificed herself, and you let her take care of you for fifty years! I thought so… you never loved her enough to wake up."

"That's not true! I love her!" Michiru screamed, tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

Shana ignored him, "While Merihim, on the other hand, waited for so many years to gain back his form. He looked for her for so many years before finally finding her. He went through so much hardship just to love her. What about you? You never did anything worth for her to shed a single tear on her face!"

"I thought he never loved her! You told me that!"

"That's kinda true. He never really loved her right at the beginning. But after that he realized it, he had hurt her really badly. It was cruel; Wilhelmina's a really nice woman. One in zillions of zillions. He should treasure her love. That that was why he decided to redeem himself. He came back and loved her, eased her from all the pain, and made her happy forever."

Tears were already pouring out of his eyes when he said it, "I… I wanted to ease her pain too…"

"But you've done a rather bad job of it. You've caused her more pain."

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't tell that to me. Go find her and tell it to her."

"But the snow…"

Shana smiled and opened the door.

"Snow?" she said, "I think Winter's over. Hello, Spring."

Surprisingly, the snow was gone completely. There was not even a single trace of snow on the floor.

"Hold on," Michiru said, turning to look at Shana, "Where am I anyway? This isn't Yuji's house, although the interior feels like it. But the outside is different,"

"Yep, it's not. I thought you had realized it. We're somewhere else, I just made the inside look like Yuji's place as it was fifty years ago, that's all."

"The heck?" Michiru mumbled softly.

"Shouldn't you go now? Don't keep her waiting."

"I guess…"

He walked out of the house and heard Shana close the door, but did not turn back to look. Everything just seemed so weird when he woke up.

He kept walking, feeling bitterer as he progressed. Wilhelmina… he loved her so much. Why can't they understand it? It was so unfair; he did not want to lose to Merihim in this battle of love. He thought he would definitely win her heart, since there were no competitors, how very wrong he was.

Then he realized something. He did not know where Wilhelmina is! Shana never told him! How stupid he was to head out here and simply walked without a sense of direction! He decided to head back and ask Shana, only to realize that the house was gone.

And that was not just to it. The ground had turned into snow! He looked up, and saw snow falling from the sky, strong wind beginning to blow, and there was no shelter anywhere. Everything was gone except the snow.

"Crap!" Michiru grunted and broke into a run, trying to find some place with shelter. What the heck is wrong with the weather?

Suddenly he realized he could not run anymore. He looked down. His feet were covered in ice. He tried moving his legs but could not. He gasped as he saw the ice slowly advancing to his knees.

"Shit!" he shouted, using more force on his feet, but still could not move. If this kept up, his whole body would turn into ice!

He was about to shout for help when help came, at least, he thought it did.

"Shana-chan?" Through the thick snow he could picture out a familiar silhouette.

Shana came into view. She was smiling at him.

"Give me a hand here, please, I'm going to freeze." Michiru pleaded.

"You know why it's snowing again?" Shana said, looking around.

"Yeah, but let me outta here first we can talk later," Michiru grunted. The lower parts of his body were already frozen solid.

"It's because of your feelings. You feel cold on the inside. You feel guilty, yet selfish. You want Wilhelmina to be yours."

"Look, we can talk afterwards..." Michiru pointed out, but Shana cut across him.

"We talk now. Afterall, the weather right now is your mood. It was spring some time ago because you weren't feeling so sour when you thought about apologizing to her. But then you decided to get a little selfish. '_Why should I be doing this? Why does she love him? He's the one who doesn't deserve her love, not me! She should love me because I really loved her!'_"

"That's not true!" Michiru yelled.

"Oh, so you're going to be defiant, huh? Well… well… You know what, Michiru-kun. You're a selfish and snotty little bastard. I should let you freeze here. After all, the world doesn't need you. Your existence is to merely bring pain to others."

"Shana, don't leave me here!" Michiru shouted.

"The snow is going to fall and swallow you up," Shana said, "Which is what you truly deserve. Bye-bye, Michiru-kun."

She gave him a big, big smile and walked away.

"No! You bitch! Come back!" Michiru bellowed. But Shana never came back, and Michiru lost sight of her in the snow.

"Dammit!" he cursed. Now there was really now way out. He would freeze and then be swallowed by the feet of snow. This, minutes later, really happened.

"No…" he thought weakly, completely covered in snow and ice, "This isn't how it's supposed to happen... Wilhelmina… I… I need your love…"

The snow melted. Now he was falling deeper and deeper into the sea. He could not swim to the surface as his body was still frozen solid. Maybe he would be eaten by a shark or something, he thought, which would be better than being stuck in the snow anyway.

He fell deeper and deeper while facing the surface. There was a light above, not very bright but not very dim either, if only he could reach it, he could get out of here… But it was impossible, he could not move. He saw all kinds of fishes swimming in front of him as he fell deeper and deeper. Yet the light above did not get dimmer, it merely stayed the same brightness, he wondered why…

Then through the distance he saw another familiar silhouette, now plunging into the sea to save him. And this time, it looked like… No, he must be hallucinating, it could not be. It can't be her…

But it was. Wilhelmina became clearer and clearer as she got closer to him. He could see that her mouth was a little open, and bubbles were coming out of it. Their eyes were locked on to each others'. Yet Wilhelmina did not seem to get any closer. She merely maintained a distance while watching him fall.

Was this another joke? Michiru thought bitterly, was Wilhelmina not here to save him, but to say that he deserved it? Wilhelmina never said anything as he kept falling, which was a little relief for him, but then again they were underwater.

He kept looking at her beautiful face as they descended the sea. The water curled up her hair a little. The two long strands of hair which she kept somewhere near the ears looked even longer than usual. He so wanted to pull them.

Suddenly he hit the bottom. He saw Wilhelmina landing beside him. She looked at him and scooped up his frozen body. She put her lips on the part of the ice where Michiru's lips were behind it, and closed her eyes. Slowly the ice covering Michiru completely began to crack. Michiru finally found feeling in his limbs, and he stood on the sandy ground under the sea. He looked at her and found her looking back at him. They stared at each other for quite some time. Then he reached out his hand to touch her face.

But Wilhelmina certainly did not want him to touch her, because she suddenly disappeared. Michiru was so shocked that he gulped a huge amount of water. He felt himself blacking out…

Michiru gasped and opened his eyes. He looked around. He was no longer under the sea anymore. He seemed to be lying on a beach; he could see tall buildings to his right and a vast sea to his left.

Then he noticed that right in front of him was the lady in the maid costume that he loved. He got up immediately, half running towards her.

"Why did you save me?" he asked.

Wilhelmina suddenly broke into an emotional fit. Tears rolled out of her eyes and before Michiru could ask her what happened she lunged at Michiru's chest, sobbing and wailing.

Michiru touched her head and stroked her hair. "I'm sorry…" he said.

Wilhelmina continued crying, her sobs getting louder and louder.

"I love you, Wilhelmina…" he said, "I didn't mean for you to suffer, I'm sorry…"

He really hated himself. Whenever Wilhelmina acts like this he simply never get to find the right words to come out of his mouth.

"I slept for a really long time, huh…" he said, "Shana told me that you're with Merihim now, and he's taking good care of you. That's… not true, isn't it? Merihim is supposed to be dead…"

Wilhelmina continued crying, and he did not say anything, merely hoping for the best.

"Merihim…" Wilhelmina said in a sobbing voice.

"Did someone just call me?" a voice rang somewhere behind Michiru. In the confusion they both broke free of each other's embrace. Michiru turned around. A man in white, with long silvery hair was smiling.

Michiru was about to ask who was the stranger when Wilhelmina answered for him.

"Me…ri…him!" she said slowly, her eyes wide, staring at the stranger.

"Yes, it's me, Wilhelmina my love…" Merihim said, his arms wide, "It's me."

More tears rolled down on her face when she ran as quickly as she could to Merihim's arms. He touched her by the head.

"Don't worry…" Merihim told her, "I'm here. I'll love you and protect you forever and ever,"

Michiru was shocked at first, but after shaking of the confusion of everything that had happened, anger began to burn inside him.

"Get your f*cking hands off her you abomination!" he screamed at Merihim, "You don't deserve her love!"

Merihim opened his eyes and looked at him sinisterly, "And you? You think you deserve it? You who cause her half a century of pain?"

Michiru was about to retort when he saw disaster via the corner of his eye. He turned to look. To his horror, the sea (most probably the one which he had fallen into) was freezing, starting from the far end. Snow was beginning to fall from the sky.

"Oh shit… Wilhelmina we have to get out of here! This whole place is about to freeze over!" he shouted.

Yet Wilhelmina did not move. She merely looked at Michiru with an expression Michiru had never seen before wearing on her face.

"It does not matter… Merihim loves me... Nothing matters anymore," she said.

"What?" Michiru said, unable to believe his ears, "Look, we have to get out of here first!"

But Wilhelmina ignored him completely. She was turning her back towards Michiru, speaking with Merihim, "I want to be with you forever,"

Merihim smiled and said, "Me too,"

He put his hands on Wilhelmina's back, spun her around so that their sides were facing Michiru, and kissed. Michiru stared in horror. Wilhelmina's eyes were closed, but she still looked really happy. A happiness that Michiru had never seen in her…

He felt the ice freeze over him. A second later Wilhelmina and Merihim froze too. Then he realized it, Wilhelmina needed Merihim's love not forever, but for only one second, that would be more than enough to satisfy her. And now they were together, trapped in the ice, lips glued to each others. They both would surely die, together, like they wanted to, but as for him, he was different, he was a Mystes, a Mystes is already dead, he could only disappear when his Flame is used up, but his simply would not.

And that could mean one thing, being trapped in the ice, he would be forced to look at the piece of ice of Wilhelmina and Merihim kissing, the one thing which he hated and dreaded the most. There was no escape. He had to look at the woman he loved the most kissing with another man eternally. Such is his fate...


	25. Reflection

Chapter 25 – Reflection

Wilhelmina slowly regained consciousness. She opened her eyes, and found out that she was resting at Yuji's place. Somehow the pillow felt softer than ever; maybe it was because of the dizziness she was feeling.

Wilhelmina tried to recall what had happened. It seemed ages ago that she had been battling Sabrac at the fun-fair. She seemed to have had a very strange dream while she was asleep. She could not really recall the dream clearly, but she was certain that Merihim was involved in it.

She tried to get up, but as she did she felt someone pushing her chest slightly, indicating for her to lie down some more.

"Wilhelmina, you should rest some more before you get up. How are you feeling right now?" A girl with a cute voice said. Wilhelmina looked at her – it was Shana.

"I… feel a little dizzy…" She told her truthfully.

"I see. If that's the case, Alastor, we should ask her some other time, until she's fully recovered. This can wait." Shana said.

"Okay," Alastor replied, "You go get her some water."

Shana nodded and left. She came back a minute later, and handed Wilhelmina a glass of water.

"How is Michiru?" Wilhelmina asked suddenly.

"Erm…" Shana said, "He's… he's still unconscious…"

"Wilhelmina Carmel, is it alright if we ask you about what happened yesterday?" Alastor asked.

"Alastor!" Shana exclaimed, a little surprised, "I thought we just agreed to let her get some rest first!"

"Yes, but now that she'd brought up the topic we can't run away from it anymore," Alastor answered calmly, then spoke to Wilhelmina, "So, can we hear your story?"

"Ummm… Wilhelmina, I'm not forcing you so if don't want to talk about it I'll understand," Shana quickly said.

"Michiru is… not awake?" Wilhelmina asked quietly.

"He'll wake up soon, I'm sure. He's just exhausted," Shana replied. Somehow she saw that Wilhelmina looked disgusted with herself.

"It was my fault…" Wilhelmina said with a sad expression, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

"Huh?" Shana said subconsciously.

"If I had not been that weak…" Wilhelmina continued to mumble, "If only I were stronger…"

"Wilhelmina?" Shana howled, "Are… are you okay?"

"Just as I expected…" Alastor said, "She's starting to display the emotional part of her…"

Shana wanted to ask Alastor what he meant, but she was still distracted by Wilhelmina's sudden softness.

"Michiru took me to the fun fair," Wilhelmina began suddenly, without needing Alastor and Shana to persuade her, "I began to feel dizzy afterwards. That was when Sabrac attacked. He was aiming for Michiru. I took the damage for him and Sabrac casted the Stigma on me. I tried to use the cure that I had used last time, but it could not work. The Stigma would not go away and my wound continued to open."

"We tried to flee. Sabrac said something strange when we did. He said that someone had casted a special undetectable Fuzetsu, and that running away from him is futile."

"But you still continued to flee, even though your wounds were getting more serious and you knew he would catch up to you in the end?" Alastor asked.

"Yes. I feel it to be strange as well. Given Sabrac's ability and my weakness he could have caught up to me in no time, but I still managed to hang in away from his grasp for quite a long time. Until… Until my feebleness got the better of me and I could not move anymore…"

Shana noticed that Wilhelmina was clenching her fists tightly. She wondered whether Alastor had noticed it too, but did not tell it him.

"Michiru… he… he wanted to protect me, but I would not let him do it. I could not risk his powers getting duplicated, because I knew Kuvestar was on the prowl."

"But he still did use his powers in the end. We saw his Fuzetsu." Shana said.

"Sabrac did the finisher on me. Then I passed out, or maybe I died, I did not know. And Michiru… Michiru…"

Wilhelmina was getting more agitated, Shana noticed.

"He used his powers… revived me… Kuvestar was about to touch him when Michiru activated his Flame… I managed to wrap my ribbons around us both and take cover. Then Michiru fought both of them…"

"That was the part when we arrived," Shana said, "We saw Michiru use his powers on the Fuzetsu. And then he fell unconscious and you took him back here… You passed out as well, shortly afterwards."

"You seemed very emotional that time, when you were carrying him home," Alastor said, "Are you acting like this because you feel that it is you who is responsible for Michiru's current condition, or is it actually something else?"

Wilhelmina knew perfectly well what Alastor meant, although Shana did not quite catch it. Yet she refused to answer, merely staring at the ceiling, a look of sadness in her eyes.

"How long are you going to continue hurting yourself like that, Wilhelmina Carmel?" Alastor said.

"Huh? What do you mean by that, Alastor?" Shana asked, but Alastor did not reply to that.

"I wish to see Michiru…" Wilhelmina whispered, her eyes still not moving.

"He's still unconscious," Shana said, "If there's anything you want to tell him you can wait till he wakes up."

"Shana," Alastor said in a warning tone, "Take her to see him,"

"Wh-What? Alastor, you…"

"Just do it."

"Okay…" Shana sighed, then helped Wilhelmina into a standing position. Wilhelmina was indeed rather weak; her knees were shaking and not able to support her weight, so she leaned on Shana's shoulders instead to prevent herself from falling down.

"Why is Wilhelmina acting like that? This is so unlike her at all…" Shana thought darkly, "It's got to be Michiru-kun… He's the one that caused her to be like this… Stupid idiot… Even after I warned him about it... If that stupid dunghead had listened to me all of this wouldn't have happened. It's a good thing Ryosuke found them and alerted us in time, or else if something bad happened to Wilhelmina I'm going to chop the stupid idiot into a million pieces… Actually I feel like doing it right now…"

"Say, Shana," Alastor said suddenly, almost making Shana jump, "Do you think that Ryosuke can be trusted? He may have helped us quite a bit, but then again, he used to be the enemy."

"What… Are you saying that what happened yesterday was a part of their plan?" Shana replied, "It didn't seem like it, though. I mean, I really hate that stupid Ryosuke as much as I hate Mich- I mean… ( she nearly failed to realize that Wilhelmina was with them right now) Nakamura. You know, that girl who squeezed our 'you-know-whats' during our trip while we were bathing. Anyways I doubt that, because Ryosuke didn't seem like one who has that much nerve to do things like that. And mind you, he did save Wilhelmina actually, so I'll let that slide for now…"

"You're actually forgiving the wrong person," Alastor said, "Michiru Akenabe did save Wilhelmina Carmel. In fact, he did it more than once already. He helped her to safety when she was ambushed by Kojiro Takasu. He protected her from Zeus. And finally he destroyed Kaijin Sabrac effortlessly in front of us."

Shana's face darkened right away, but said nothing. She helped Wilhelmina walk a few steps before speaking, "But… Michiru-kun is… really powerful… I never thought he'd be able to display that kind of power…"

"That's right. To think that the mighty Kaijin Sabrac would go down that easily…. Back then when you fought him with Banjou no Shite and Choushi no Yomite it didn't go quite well too."

"Yeah, and it's also thanks to Yuji who came up with that plan, or else I dunno what'd have happened,"

"Well, if Golden were there at that time maybe that would have saved everybody's time and energy," Alastor said.

"Alastor!" Shana grunted angrily, "Stop saying as if Michiru-kun is some kind of saint or something! That idiot is absolutely nothing but trouble!"

At that moment, Wilhelmina suddenly grasped Shana's shoulder so hard that she winced in pain.

"Wilhelmina?" Shana whispered, once again feeling shocked. Did Wilhelmina squeeze her that hard because she was grasping for more support, or was she angry that she had called Michiru an idiot?

"Shana, you should hurry and take her to his room. She doesn't seem like she should be up for too long." Alastor said. Shana gave a soft grunt and nodded her head.

"Here," Shana said as they reached Michiru's room. It actually took quite long considering the short distance between Michiru's and Wilhelmina's room. Shana looked Michiru, who was lying still on his bed. "He's been like this ever since you brought him back. Hasn't even moved at all from what I can tell."

Wilhelmina limped towards Michiru on her own and knelt down beside him. Shana stifled a gasp. Wilhelmina was actually kneeling down because of Michiru? No… she thought bitterly, it was because her knees were feeling weak. That had to be it…

"Why… was I… so weak?" Wilhelmina whimpered, not even aware of whether she was talking to herself, Tiamat, Michiru or Shana and Alastor. "If only… If only I were stronger… then…"

"Wilhelmina, please don't blame yourself," Shana said, putting her hand on her shoulder, "It's not your fault. If it's anybody's fault it's his. I warned him not to take you out. Now look what he's gotten himself into… Serves him right…"

"Shana! Enough!" Alastor scolded. Shana fell silent.

"I'm at fault too…" Shana quickly said, but she doubt that Wilhelmina was listening to her anymore, "I couldn't even realize that a Fuzetsu had been set up in this city."

"Shana, we should leave." Alastor said, "Leave her alone for now."

"What? Alastor… but…!"

"Shana! Now!"

Shana gave an irritated groan and stormed out of the room, taking out her anger on the door by slamming it as hard as possible.

"What was that about?" She shrilled angrily at Alastor, "Why are you letting him alone with Wilhelmina? You know-"

"I only wish that Wilhelmina Carmel would stop swallowing down her emotions,"

"What do you mean?"

"You see, Wilhelmina Carmel was about to cry already, but she just wouldn't do it in front of you or me."

"What? Wilhelmina's crying? No way, she can't be. When Merihim left her she never even cried at all, and when I left her too there wasn't even any expression on her face. There's no way she'll shed half a tear for that idiot."

"That is right. And that is also because she swallows down her tears, unlike you. Surely you are aware that Wilhelmina Carmel actually has a lot of emotions, but doesn't show them out?"

"So why is she crying now, you say…"

"I believe that it is time that she will no longer be able to hold her emotions any longer. You have seen her just now. She looked really on the verge of tears, and I don't want her to hide her emotions any longer. You trust me, that she will do it on an unconscious Michiru Akenabe. We'll take it slowly, one step at a time, and sooner or later she'll begin to confide herself in us."

"Now that you mention about it, Wilhelmina never talked to me about her feelings…"

.'.

Meanwhile, Wilhelmina was indeed crying on Michiru's chest. She grasped his shirt so tight that she could end up tearing it anytime. Tears were rolling out of her eyes non-stop while she tried to keep her sobs as soft as possible.

"It was my weakness…" She sobbed, "My weakness caused him to…"

She hiccupped and grabbed Michiru's shirt even tighter.

"Michiru… I'm sorry…" She whimpered.

She suddenly hated herself so much. She, the veteran Flame Haze, the Banjou no Shite, the one chosen to participate in the Great War, had fallen in every battle she had fought recently. She was often distracted during battles, and had been losing confidence in her skills more and more. She was beginning to show her weakness, which, was a thing she really despised and had never done before. But somehow she was reaching her limit. She could no longer act tough. Her mask of toughness was beginning to crumble at the very eyes of the ones she did not want to reveal her true nature to.

She then thought of the humiliation Bel Peol had given her a few years ago. She battled Bel Peol to buy time for Shana to save Yuji. Yet, astonishingly, Bel Peol managed to defeat her within five minutes, and two blows in the stomach was all that she could take. Bel Peol even mocked her by saying that she did not have time to waste on her because she had to find Hecate quickly.

Even Wilhelmina herself was surprised by how weak she looked in front of Bel Peol, and she always reminded herself that Bel Peol fought her while being fresh, while she had battled with countless robots a while ago and accumulated some fatigue. Yet it still did not change the fact that the event still brought a grin on Bel Peol's face even now. She had enjoyed treating the Banjou no Shite like some rubbish opponent.

Then, in another battle with another Bal Masque member, she had been humiliated, once again, this time by Sydonay. The Senpen's attack never even made contact with her. All he did was crush the ribbon shield that Wilhelmina conjured, and shockingly she lost balance, did somersaults while falling down, banged steel with the back of her head and fell down face first. Her head bled badly afterwards, and she was also momentarily knocked unconscious.

Wilhelmina hated being embarrassed and humiliated, which was why she acted tough and cold all the time. Yet right now she could hardly care about being cold. She felt a very strong desire for comfort and love. She knew she had to do it. Nobody was looking at her; nobody would know what she was doing…. She never had a warm shoulder to lean or cry on; she really needed one…

She felt shameful. She prevented Michiru from using his powers because she was selfish, not because she was trying to protect him. She did not want to look like some little useless girl beside Golden, who was rumoured to possess infinite power. Michiru was definitely more powerful than her, and yet, given the fact that he had never done any training or preparations, was able to summon that kind of energy and channel it into battle, was something that made her feel embarrassed of. She did not want to look weak in front of Michiru. She did not want Michiru to think that she was a powerless girl who should be protected by him. Not especially when she had a headache.

So, because of her ego, she had stopped Michiru from using his powers. She got killed by Sabrac, and Michiru had summoned all his strength to revive her. He had summoned even more to destroy Sabrac. How much powers had he used? He was so exhausted. Would he ever have the energy to wake up anymore?

"Please…" she croaked, "Wake up…"

She leaned her head on Michiru's chest. Somehow it felt really warm, given that Michiru was a Mystes and could not produce heat from his body. Tears rolled down her cheek onto Michiru's shirt, wetting it. Unbeknownst to her, Michiru's mouth twitched.


	26. Double Confession

Chapter 26 – Double Confession

Wilhelmina's tears continue to pour down her face for quite some time until the doorbell ring, which was then she became conscious about what she was doing. Quickly rubbing away her tears, her poker face appeared once again as she looked at Michiru; her eyes were once again cold and her face expressionless. The latter was still unconscious.

"Why?" She whispered.

Why did she have to cry like that? Was she really unable to hold her feelings? She remembered back at the time where Michiru confronted Kojiro for her. She was really touched too. She had thought that Michiru was fooling around with another woman, but was actually his plan in order to lure Kojiro out and destroy him. She had had such a strong urge to cry, but resisted with all her might. So why was she unable control it now? Because nobody was looking?

At the moment, Shana opened the door. Wilhelmina was more than grateful that she had dried up her tears before Shana entered.

"Wilhelmina… Can you come out for a while?" She asked politely. Wilhelmina actually thought that Shana would ask whether if she was okay or not, buy she did not ask. Wilhelmina nodded and they exited the room together. Four people were already sitting outside: Yuji Sakai, a hoodlum, a woman with light blue hair, and a man with dark blue one.

"I don't think I've met you before," Arken said politely, "My name is Arken Varles, nice to meet you, Banjou no Shite."

"Elise," Elise nodded as she said, she had met Wilhelmina before, in Yuji's school, and they nearly battled each other.

"And my name is Ryosuke Tachibana!" Ryosuke roared happily, "Very nice to see a pretty woman in distress, don't-"

"Shut up nobody asked you to talk!" Shana shouted angrily back at him.

"Arh whatever…" Ryosuke said, "So is everybody here? Good. Let the super meeting begin!"

Shana was clenching her fists so hard that her nails ended up hurting her palm.

"Okay I'll make this quick." Ryosuke said, "You all know quite well that Kuvestar is on the verge of being oblivion, and he wants Golden's powers. Have you guys ever wondered why didn't he go for the Reiji Maigo in the first place? Afterall the Reiji Maigo can't hide its presence, so as long as Kuvestar touches the dude, he'll have his powers in no time."

"Because Golden is stronger, duh…" Shana said, "Or that's what he thinks. I don't believe that Yuji'll lose to him,"

"Yeah, that's true. Golden is stronger, BUT… since Kuvestar's losing his Power of Existence, wouldn't he want to go for a more simple alternative?"

"You have a point," Alastor said, "The Reiji Maigo is also kinda like Golden in a way, it regenerates itself every midnight, so it's close to being immortal, just that the host has to be more conservative."

"Kuvestar doesn't wanna be conservative. He'll want to use all the power he gets. That's why he's got his eyes set on Golden than the Silver."

"We already know this. Don't tell me you called us here to say something we already know," Elise said irritably.

"Hold your freaking four-legged sea horses I'm not finished yet!" Ryosuke said, "What I'm trying to say is, why wouldn't Kuvestar get the Reiji Maigo's powers first before he gets his hand on Golden's?"

"Wow, that seems like the obvious decision for him to make," Arken said.

"Right, you agreed with me," Ryosuke said and nodded, "Anybody here got an explanation?"

"Don't tell me he already has it?" Shana said.

"Of course not! If he already has it he would not be worrying about turning into oblivion! Man you're stupider than I thought!"

"Grr!" Shana made a movement to seize Ryosuke's throat, but a strong gush of wind threw her off her feet.

"Control your temper miss!" Ryosuke said, "So… nobody's able to think of a suitable answer to that, huh?"

"What nonsense do you have for us this time?" Arken said.

"Well, my theory is this. Kuvestar thinks that he can't control both their powers at one go. I know it sounds stupid, but that's most probably the reason that explains why Kuvestar didn't touch this dude." Ryosuke said, pointing at Yuji.

"Everything you say is stupid, actually, but I'll go with it…" Arken said darkly.

"Hey! I resent that!"

"But think about it…" Shana spoke, "He can control the powers of every single Flame Haze put together but he can't control the power of two Mystes?"

"You're looking down on us Mystes or something? Haven't you seen Golden's powers on display? It's like a god's power! I don't think even ten Flame Haze can take him down!"

"Sounds far-fetched, but you gotta believe any crap this guy says. Half the time his bullshit turns out to be true," Arken said, then turned to Ryosuke, "So… You got anything else to say?"

"Yeah. I think that Kuvestar might end up choosing the Reiji Maigo instead, now that he's desperate. He's greedy, he's cunning, but he's not stupid. In fact he's the smartest aleck I've ever met. You guys gotta protect the Silver as much as you are protecting the Golden. Kuvestar might have some serious tricks up his sleeve even with just the Silver."

Ryosuke suddenly got up and walked towards Michiru's room. "Golden's in this room, huh? Is it alright if I go in for a while?"

"Huh? How did you know he was there?" Shana asked.

"I can feel his presence of course…" Ryosuke said, opening the door.

"What!" Elise barked, "You can detect his presence?"

"Err… yeah. Of course I can. Sorry if I never told you guys earlier, but, in fact, I'm the only one who can detect Golden's presence."

Shana's face became serious, "What? How come?"

Ryosuke paused for a moment, then said dramatically, "Because I see the maid come out from this room,! Duh…. You think I was being serious about being able to detect Golden's presence? I was right, you WERE really stupid!"

"YOU SHUT UP!" Shana screamed and brandished her sword.

"Whoa… whoa… whoa… Calm down… Don't be like that maid lady okay, control your emotions!" Ryosuke quickly said, waving his hands in front of him.

"I'm going to kill you!" Shana yelled and aimed a slash at Ryosuke's head, but the latter brandished his weapons, two huge shurikens, as well, and parried the attack.

"Is that so? Are you sure you're gonna kill me? Or rather… can you really kill me?" He mocked, "I can fight you one-on-one if you want, but heck… it'll be a real waste of time, and I've better things to do than seeking fights with weaklings."

"What did you say?"

"Enough!" Arken said suddenly, and the two of them stared at him in surprise, "You two are being really noisy; you'll end up waking him up…" He pointed at Michiru.

"He's still unconscious, mind you," Shana snapped.

"Are you _really _sure about that?" Ryosuke piped up.

"I said shut up!" Shana yelled.

"Cause he seems like he's pretending to be asleep," Ryosuke whispered softly.

"Shut up!" Shana yelled again.

"Don't believe me? Watch this!"

Ryosuke gave a haughty laugh and whispered in a voice that was one hundred per cent like Wilhelmina's.

"Wake up,"

At the very moment Michiru gasped and jumped; everyone saw it.

"See? I told you he was faking his sleep!" Ryosuke said ecstatically.

This time it was Arken who gave a haughty laugh, "Smart ass… Using the wind to travel the voice at make it sound as though Miss Carmel is whispering beside his ear."

"I'm a genius, aren't I?" Ryosuke said happily, scratching his nose. Elise folded her arms. Wilhelmina was staring at Michiru with a pained expression on her face, almost as if indicating that Michiru had betrayed her, or something of the sort. Michiru's face fell as their eyes met.

"W-Wilhelmina, I can explain!" Michiru stammered as he hurried outside the room.

Too late, Wilhelmina had already ran out of the house before Michiru could even step his foot outside the room.

"Why buddy!" Ryosuke taunted dramatically, "Look what you've done! You've hurt a damsel's feelings! Oh, do I feel sorry for her… How could you toy with her feelings like that? Don't you know she's in distress? You sinful, hateful, bloodiful…"

But Michiru was obviously not paying attention to him. He was halfway reaching the door when Shana pulled him back.

"What?" He yelled at her angrily.

"I'll tell you what!" Shana snapped back angrily. "Leave her alone!"

"I can't…" Michiru said, trying to sound calm. "I can't leave her alone like this, I need to talk to her!"

"Well, you should have talked to her when she was in your room instead of faking unconsciousness! Now you pay the price for it!"

"Look, I don't have time for this!" Michiru snapped. "Get your hands off me!"

"I warned you before! I told you to stay away from her! But did you listen? You keep on hurting her feelings again and again!"

"I'm sexy and I know it!" Ryosuke sang while doing the dance, Shana turned around to growl at him. Michiru seized the chance and wrenched himself free of Shana's grip and sprinted outside. Cursing her for wasting his time, he wondered where Wilhelmina went. She was nowhere to be seen, in account of the head start Shana had given her.

Yet somehow the look of hurt on Wilhelmina's eyes had given him made him feel uneasy. There seemed to be some hidden meaning inside it, a clue to where she would run to. But where? Some place that they've been together before? Some place which held meaning for both of them? With that thought, Michiru began to dash.

..

.

Wilhelmina was staring at a tree, her fists clenched. She had followed Michiru and hid behind here once, when she felt that Michiru was being very suspicious. Michiru had come here to meet with a girl named Ai Takasu. When Michiru was about to enter the house with Ai, she had felt a strange feeling, a mixture of hurt and betrayal.

Which was what she was feeling now.

She had thought that Michiru had abandoned her, but it turned out that he did not; he was using Ai to find out about Kojiro, who happened to be her brother, and succeeded in figuring out his weakness. Michiru most probably took a big risk by linking Ai and Kojiro as siblings. Had he been wrong, he would have been in trouble explaining to her about his intentions.

Now he had pretended to be unconscious so that he could get her to pour out her feelings on him. A cheap move, Wilhelmina thought, feeling angry, but she herself was also stupid enough to fall for that…

The wind suddenly became stronger, and Wilhelmina suddenly felt a presence of a Mystes somewhere behind her. Michiru had come for her? No, she could not detect Golden's presence, nobody could. But before she could turn around, the Mystes had spoken.

"Maid-sama…"

Wilhelmina recognized that voice, but she did not turn around. She was a little surprised, however, what was Ryosuke doing here?

"Is the wind too strong? Shall I make it less?" He said, now standing beside her. Wilhelmina gaped at him.

"There's… no need to be surprised." Ryosuke smiled at her, "I can be your fan if you want. _Fan_. Get it?" He gave her a nervous laugh and widened his smile.

There was indeed something different about Ryosuke. He was not his usual anhedonic self, talking ridiculous stuff in an attention-seeking manner and then laugh at his own not-funny joke, but now he seemed tense and nervous.

"Ummm… I suppose you want to know why I've come to find you?" He said, scratching his hair, now turning away from her.

"Is something the matter?" Wilhelmina asked.

"Oh no, no, no! It's just that… well… there's something I really want to tell you. If I don't seize my chance now I might not have another one anymore,"

At first Wilhelmina thought that Ryosuke was about to provide more information to protect Golden or the Reiji Maigo, or maybe about Kuvestar's next plans to rule the world. But then again if that were the case he would have told them to everyone…

"So Maid-sama… Is it alright if I call you by your name?"

Wilhelmina was a little surprised. But something made her feel that this was not the ultimate thing that Ryosuke wanted to say.

"I do not mind," She said, but before she could continue and ask what he really wanted to say, Ryosuke was already speaking.

"Wilhelmina…" He said softly, giving a small sigh of relief, "Wilhelmina."

He paused for a while before saying, "Are you feeling okay already? Because you look really weak just now. Do you want me to accompany you back and get some rest?"

How unusually thoughtful of him, Wilhelmina thought, he definitely had some motives. Come to think of it, her dizziness was gone already, maybe because she was too angry at Michiru to even bother about that.

"Are you really okay, Wilhelmina?"

He then suddenly stared at Wilhelmina, looking at her right in the eye. Wilhelmina felt really uncomfortable, but somehow she could not take her eyes off Ryosuke's red ones.

"Wilhelmina… I…" He finally began, staring hard into Wilhelmina's eyes and clenched his fists, but he could not really finish his next sentence.

"Is something wrong?" Wilhelmina asked.

"No. It's nothing… Forget it…" Ryosuke said, now taking his eyes off her, "You should head back already. Everyone's waiting for you."

He walked passed her, but Wilhelmina grabbed his arm.

"You are hiding something from me."

Ryosuke sighed. "I guess I don't have a choice,huh. No chickening out this time… Be brave, Ryo…"

He took a deep breath; Wilhelmina was still looking at him.

"Wilhelmina, I know that I sound silly, but this time I'm serious, okay? I… I… I liked you all this while… Ever since I first seen you,"

Ryosuke's face reddened, Wilhelmina's as well.

"I know that I'm not good enough for you. You're a Flame Haze who fights for justice and the world, while me, I'm just a retarded douchebag who's afraid of being weak. I never had anything accomplished while I lived, and now when I'm a Mystes I never did anything as well. I got lucky when the Reiji Maigo revived me, but that doesn't change my fate… I'm going to disappear… once again, when my Existence dies out. My life has never changed, ever since I lived, even after I'm dead! There's absolutely nothing worthy for me to keep living on, and yet I'm afraid of disappearing into oblivion. I keep telling myself not to be scared, to face it, but I'm still myself. I hate myself. I wouldn't have wanted to be some stupid attention-seeker if I had the choice. I was born like this, my fate is decided for me, there's nothing I can do to change my life!"

Wilhelmina placed her hand on his shoulder. "Please calm down…"

"I know… I know… I'm sorry for ranting like that. I just don't feel that it's fair when I have to be myself when I hate myself so much…"

"You have to be yourself," Wilhelmina said, "That is what makes you you."

"Yeah, the me whose been treated like shit everywhere I go. Elise used to be one of us too, but when she switched sides nobody questioned her anything, you guys just accept her to be one of you. While I fed information of Kuvestar for you, you all doubted me and suspected me, thinking that I'm feeding you wrong information. The way you see me joining your side is like I'm a dog filled with mud that rolled inside your house looking for a bath!"

He gave the ground a good hard kick. After that he seemed to have calmed down, because he spoke in a rather low voice, "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have said like that. You have never treated me like that. You never thought of me like that. It was the other shitheads that did. I shouldn't have made you hear me rant. Sorry bout that…"

"So… you're going to wait for _him_, aren't you?" He asked, "He went out to look for you, but I think he ended up in the wrong place. You can come with me if you don't want to meet him I can take you some place to hide."

Wilhelmina shook her head. "It is okay," She said, "If he does not come I will go back,"

"You don't have to," Ryosuke said and smiled, "I'll come pick you up afterwards. I'll take you to meet an old friend of mine. She wants to see you."

xx

Michiru managed his way to Takasu Residence. He was a little surprised when he saw Wilhelmina standing alone by the tree so he rushed towards her. Did this mean that Wilhelmina had followed him here when he was acting suspicious? After all he did not want Wilhelmina to think that he and Ai had a special relationship. Besides, he needed to prevent Kojiro from engaging battle with her. He had come up with a rather brilliant plan to cause Kojiro's existence to disappear.

"Wilhelmina…" He said, "Wilhelmina, please listen to me…"

But Wilhelmina showed no sign of irritancy or wanting to avoid him. Double surprise for him. He felt relieved; at least Wilhelmina was no longer angry at him.

"I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have-" He began, but Wilhelmina cut across him, "You are being very despicable."

"I can't just leave you alone out here!" Michiru said, "What if something happened to you? I won't be able to forgive myself!"

"Nothing will happen to me," Wilhelmina shot back at him.

"I know you can protect yourself. It's just that… I want to see that you're safe."

Wilhelmina turned away from him and spoke in a quick manner, "I wish to be left alone for now," Michiru, persistent, walked towards her and put his hand on her shoulder. "No, you're not alone. You don't have to face everything alone. We're always behind you,"

"You're not asking me to go away because you're mad at me," Michiru said confidently, "Is something else troubling you?"

Wilhelmina pushed his hand away from her shoulders and spoke, "It is not of any importance. I merely need some time to think it through."

"Sure, if you're really going to think it through," Michiru retorted, "You're just going to run away from it. You're just gonna keep it inside your heart and try to solve it yourself with some silly method,"

"I do not wish to have my personal problems affect another person, especially as it is not relevant to the current situation." Wilhelmina said defiantly.

Michiru sighed. "Why do you always prioritize others' feelings before yours? You don't have to keep it all to yourself. You tell other people about your problems not to add more problems into theirs, but for them to help you. And maybe they'll find a solution to solve their own problems as well. That's what it's all about. You have to open up yourself and stop acting as if nothing happened!"

"You don't have to worry about troubling me. I'll listen to you. I'll lend an ear and listen to everything you say. I'll help you. You don't have to shoulder all the burden yourself... I'm ready to share 'em with you. So…"

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Because I love you,"

Wilhelmina's face reddened with embarrassment, but Michiru's did not.

"You really scared the crap out of me when Sabrac did that on you. I thought you were a goner for sure. I can't even imagine how the feeling is like, losing you… If you were to leave me forever before I tell you about my feelings I'll regret for the rest of my life. You made me realize it. I have to be brave; I can't keep running away anymore. I have to tell you how I feel about you before I never have another chance to."

Wilhelmina stared at him, her mouth opened a little. Why was she having a strange feeling about Michiru's sudden bravery?

"Hey, Wilhelmina…" Michiru spoke cheerfully.

Wilhelmina came back to her senses. "Yes?"

"Please answer my question. Do you have any feelings for me?"

What a direct question. Michiru certainly did not beat around the bush.

"I… I…" Wilhelmina stammered.

"Come on, just say yes or no, it's not difficult, isn't it?" Michiru was still eyeing her with a smile.

"I…. don't… know…" she finally summoned a soft voice out of her mouth.

"I don't know? Okay, lemme ask you this. After everything that's transpired between us so far, have you not had any feelings for me? When we first met and you told me not to bring you to the hospital. When you fought Zeus. When you fought Kojiro again. When we cooked the udon together. When we were at the fun fair. I already harbored so many feelings for you I can't make them go away. Not any at all from you? None at all?"

Wilhelmina merely looked at Michiru's chest, avoiding his eyes. He then walked towards her and placed an arm around her waist. He wasn't really hugging her, but still pulling her closer to him just the same.

"If 'no' is not your answer, then it leaves just the other one," he said with a wink. Then he continued, "You're still not willing to forget about Merihim?"

Wilhelmina gasped and clenched her fists. Why did Michiru have to bring all that up? She did not want to listen anymore…

"That guy's gone. He's gone. He's dead. You have to let go of him, Wilhelmina. He's torturing you from beyond the grave. You have to stop letting him doing that."

"S-stop…" Wilhelmina whimpered. Tears were already threatening to fill her eyes and she blinked rapidly, hoping to swallow down those tears. "Please…"

"You don't deserve this kind of treatment, Wilhelmina. He never treasured you when you wanted to be with him. He's not worthy of your love."

She was already starting to tremble. Her mask of toughness slowly shattering in front of Michiru.

"You try to look tough all the time, but you don't fool me. I have seen through the loneliness inside you the moment I look in your eyes."

He suddenly held her in a tight embrace. "That's what made me want to love you. The weaker side of you… That's the part of you I want to protect. I swore to myself that I'll protect you from the harm that Merihim did to you. I'll make you feel loved again, so that you'll never feel lonely anymore."

Wilhelmina trembled even worse. She tried to push him away from her, but somehow she seemed to have lost all her strength.

"I know what you're thinking. You're feeling that you're not worthy of anyone to love you, just because Merihim never cared about you back then. You're wrong. It's not like that. There's still people who love you too. You have to give yourself a chance! Don't give up, Wilhelmina… Give yourself a chance and learn to love again!"

At that point, Wilhelmina clenched her teeth, banged her head on his chest pulled his shirt with so much force that she was on the verge of tearing it. Obviously she was at the brink of being a

"There's no use playing tough in front of me. Just let it out. You'll feel better." He said, patting her back, "You know you want to. Just let it out."

A whimper from Wilhelmina told him that he had succeeded in making her cry. He felt slightly guilty as the tears rolled out of her eyes and wet his shirt. "I'm sorry, Wilhelmina….."

She did not have to tell him anything. There was no need. Just by holding her and letting her cry on his shoulder, Michiru felt that he already knew everything about Wilhelmina.

He sighed and stroked her hair. "How long ago has it been since you actually let it out like that?"

Whether it was after a long time or only a short time, Michiru did not know. Wilhelmina seemed to have stopped crying as she removed herself from Michiru's embrace. He looked at her. Her eyes were swollen and red, a few tears were still visible on her face and her cheeks had turned pink. Somehow Michiru felt that she looked more beautiful than ever before. He wiped away some tears off her cheeks.

"Shall we head back already?" Michiru said carelessly, then kicked himself mentally._ The hell am I saying? Don't I want to spend some more time alone with her?_

But Wilhelmina did not move, or even answer him. Thank goodness, Michiru thought, maybe she had not heard him. Then before he could plan something else, she had spoken, "I had a dream last night,"

"Yeah, I had one too." Michiru said playfully. "What did you dream about? Was it a sweet one?"

"I dreamt that Merihim came back for me. I dreamt that he actually loved me all this while."

Michiru's jaw dropped. "I… I had the same dream too! You saved me while I was falling under the sea, then you and Merihim…"

He could not continue that one final word.

"So we both had the same dream? But… what does this mean?"

He looked at Wilhelmina, who looked puzzled as well. But before he could start thinking somebody had approached them.

"Wilhelmina, it's time for us to go already. My friend might not want to wait too long. I'll send you back afterwards."

Ryosuke had arrived, his red spiky hair being blown about by the wind. He walked towards Wilhelmina, gave her a warm smile, and held out his hand.

"Let's go, okay?"

Wilhelmina silently took his hand. Michiru suddenly felt a rage inside him.

"Wait!" He shouted, "Where are you taking her?"

Ryosuke smiled sinisterly at him, "Where, you ask? I'm taking her to a church, of course. We're going to get married there!"

"Don't fuck with me!" Michiru retorted angrily, "Let go of her!"

"Ah… But Wilhelmina doesn't seem like she wants to let go, does she?"

"Stay away from her!" Michiru bellowed and charged at Ryosuke, but the Wind Rider merely conjured up a knife out of nowhere and pointed it right at his throat.

"No." Ryosuke said in a determined tone, "_You_ stay away from her,"

"What the hell are you planning to do to her?" Michiru said fiercely.

"Oh, simple." He now placed his knife on Wilhelmina's neck instead. "I'm going to kill her." Then he laughed.

Michiru growled. Somehow something seemed strange. Wilhelmina was actually playing along with Ryosuke. He was sure that Wilhelmina could have knocked the knife away easily.

"Now… Use your powers, Golden. Summon your powers and fight me, and rescue her. Come on! Use them! Aren't you like… the strongest being ever to walk the universe? What's the matter? Bring it on!"

I'm not supposed to use my powers, Michiru thought to himself.

"I'm not supposed to use my powers!" Ryosuke mimicked a baby voice and Michiru looked up in surprise, "Excuses. You can't do it. You don't know how to fight. And that's why, you will not be able to protect her from harm."

He released the knife from Wilhelmina's neck. "You keep saying that you want to protect her. But have you? Isn't it the other way round? You've been seeking protection from her? She got hurt from all those battles, all because of you. This battle is supposed to be yours. She has nothing to do with it. She should not have participated in this war. But she fought them for you, and got hurt during the process, for you, as well. And this is how you treat her?"

"What are you getting at?" Michiru grunted angrily.

"Wanna know why right now I'm fighting your battle as well? Because of her. I'll do it for her. I will protect her, in ways that you never could. She would never have to get hurt because of you anymore, you ungrateful bastard."

"Why you…!"

"Who was the one who killed Zeus after he hurt her? Me. Who was the one who urged you to get her away from Kojiro when she was alone and vulnerable to his damage? Me. Who was the one who did a big tornado and spared your ass from the Bal Masque while leaving her location absolutely unscathed? Me. Who was the one who alerted the other Flame Haze when Sabrac was about about to kill her? Me! I did all of those because I love her! But what about you? Have you done anything for her up to this point? Totally nothing! All you did is cause her harm again and again, and then act like the hero that has saved her from eternal torment!"

"SHUT UP!" Michiru roared.

"I know, buddy. Truth hurts. But that's the truth. You cannot protect her. You will not make her happy for the rest of her life. You're not worthy of her love."

Ryosuke turned towards Wilhelmina. "We should get going now, Wilhelmina. We've wasted enough time on this vermin."

He grabbed her hand and took off. Michiru ran towards their spot and shouted, "Wait!" But a strong gush of wind blew him off his feet and the back of his head crashed into the tree. As he slumped down, on the brink of unconsciousness, he heard a voice ringing in his ear.

"Weakling." Ryosuke chuckled.

He tried to stand up, but his dizzy head would not allow him. "Damn… Just like… in… the dream… huh…" He groaned before blacking out.

….

X

"Yo, I've got the maid." Ryosuke said to his friend. They were standing on the rooftop of a tall building. Wilhelmina looked at the person whom Ryosuke was talking to. It was actually Elise.

"The hell took you so long?" Elise was a little irritated. "I thought I told you to being her here faster!"

"Some piece of crap got in my way. But she's here now okay. I've done my thing." Ryosuke shrugged and said.

"Well yeah. Thanks a bunch Ryo. I want to talk to her in private, so please excuse us for now."

"Okay," Ryosuke nodded and left for the door behind him. Elise walked towards Wilhelmina and spoke to her.

"Say… Did Ryo make you come here by creating a lot of bullshit?"

Wilhelmina nodded. Elise sighed.

"That idiot's never changed…"

"Hey, who the fuck are you calling an idiot!" Ryosuke suddenly appeared and yelled.

"I told you not to eavesdrop on us!" Elise shouted back angrily.

"I wasn't! You big mouthed woman you're the one that's talking so loud that I can hear it even if I'm in Antartica! Don't you know that sound travels further when at night?" Ryosuke retorted.

"Shut up and go away." Elise warned.

"Sheesh… What a bitch…" Ryosuke stormed away angrily.

Elise waited for Ryosuke to go away and when she was sure that he was no longer near enough to listen to them, she suddenly said in a serious tone, "I plan to destroy Golden."

Wilhelmina gave a soft gasp and stared hard at Elise. Elise stared back, a piercing look on her.

"I know about your relationship with him, and I know that you will protect him instead. But I will do what I must; I will stop anybody from abusing his powers. Kuvestar wants to destroy the world with it, and the Bal Masque somehow has some plans for it. And who is to say that next time there won't be another new enemy who wants the Golden for destruction?"

Wilhelmina knew what was coming. Elise was determined to do it, nothing could stop her. She had would have no choice but to-

"Fight me." She said, "I will not let you get your hands on him,"

"That's what I intended to," Elise said, "We'll fight each other. If I win, I will leave this place immediately and leave myself out of this Golden affair. If you lose, you will not stop me from destroying him. Do we have a deal?"

Wilhelmina nodded fiercely.

"Good," Elise said, glad that it was turning out the way she expected, "We won't be aiming for the kill, but I cannot guarantee that we won't end up knocking each other out. And if Ryosuke interrupts our battle we shall kill him on the spot together, okay?"

As Elise and Wilhelmina readied their weapons, Ryosuke began to chuckle alone in the shadows, "So I guess this is what they say by a two women's catfight for a man, huh… How ironic… This will be a great battle."

"Ready…" Elise muttered.

"Set…" Wilhelmina mumbled.

"Begin battle." Tiamat and Signum said.


	27. Truce

Chapter 27 – Truce

"Ahhh! What was that noise!" Ai Takasu suddenly woke up from her sleep and jumped after a loud bang had made her awake. From the sound of things it looked like it came from right outside her house. She quickly pulled the curtains and peeked outside the window.

Even though it was deep into the night, the illuminating streetlights made the streets look bright, and Ai had no trouble seeing a blond male lying unconscious under a huge tree. In fact, it was the only tree present in the current area. Ai had always wondered why the tree was never cut off or moved to another place, since it caused a lot more trouble than it was worth; the tree does not grow fruits, and it gets in the way of pedestrians trying to walk towards the main road. Every autumn it became a real pain the sweep the leaves away because of the uncountable amount of leaves growing from it.

The tree was always there ever since she was born. Back then when she and her elder brother were little children they had always played under this very tree. _Brother…_

As soon as Ai thought of the word in her mind, flashbacks of a little boy and a little girl running happily under a tree began to play in her mind. Then her head hurt. She managed to bite down a scream in the end; she did not want to wake up her mother at this time of the night.

"What am I thinking?" She whimpered to herself, "I… I never had a brother!"

She shook herself mentally. _Don't think of stupid things…_ She wanted to go back to sleep, but suddenly remembered that someone was lying unconscious outside. As much as she hated looking at the tree, for it always made her feel strange, she forced herself and took another glance. This time she noticed that the person lying under the tree was someone she actually knew.

"Akenabe-senpai!" she gasped. Without further ado she dashed out of her house and kneeled beside Michiru. She shook him and called his name a few times, but Michiru never woke. He had been knocked out cold completely.

"Oh no…" Ai moaned, "I should bring him back to rest,"

And she really did. She brought him to the living room and treated his wounds. There was a huge lump on the back of his head. The impact was probably the culprit that knocked him out. She wished that Michiru would at least stir a bit; she was getting worried that Michiru had fallen into a coma. Suddenly she realized that Michiru's body felt very cold, there was not any heat on his body. Her heart raced as she placed her fingers under Michiru's nose. She gasped and her eyes went wide when Michiru did not breathe.

X

Wilhelmina felt her wounds stinging. She was not sure whether the wounds were inflicted before or during her battle with Elise, but it still hurt quite a bit. After all she was not really feeling well for the day, and that put her under a great disadvantage against Elise. Being more of a range attacker, and since Elise was a melee one, she had tried to build a distance between her and her opponent, to give herself the advantage, but Elise was being extremely aggressive; she had no idea how many times she had backed away, all she knew was that she was doing it for the entire battle.

"How much longer are you going to keep running away?" Elise shouted angrily as she parried away Wilhelmina's ribbons.

Wilhelmina ignored her and sent more ribbons at her direction. Elise cut them away with ease.

"Just get out of my way!" Elise screamed as she tried to stab Wilhelmina with her sword, but Wilhelmina had formed a shield with her ribbons, thus her attack was absorbed by the shield instead. Elise got even angrier and tried to break the shield, but she had fallen into Wilhelmina's trap.

The ribbons suddenly wrapped around Elise's sword and then her arm. She lost balance for a moment, and that was enough for Wilhelmina to give Elise a good kick up the face. Her lips parted and blood began to drip. With her free hand she tried to get her revenge and punch Wilhelmina's face, but not before long her arms and legs were restrained by Wilhelmina's ribbons.

"Urgh!" Elise grumbled as she struggled with the ribbons, but she could not break them. Wilhelmina had had a tight grip on her.

"Why are you so stubborn?" They both said at the same time with an irritated tone and expression.

"Can't you see it?" Elise said while struggling with the ribbons, "This Golden is dangerous! It could bring destruction to this world! It could upset the balance of this world that we're trying to protect! If I don't destroy it now it'll mean the end of everything!"

"I cannot allow you to do that." Wilhelmina said calmly, yet her tone was firm and commanding. "The Mystes who currently possesses the Golden will not abuse its powers. He will do everything in order to protect everything in this world. If there were anyone whom you consider a threat, it is the one who is trying to steal his powers. He is our real enemy."

"Even up till now you're trying to defend that Mystes! You do realize that we cannot let this kind of power rove freely!"

"That is why," Wilhelmina answered coolly, "I will protect it. I will protect the Mystes and the Flame as well."

"You will regret this!" Elise screamed.

Wilhelmina shook her head. "Maybe somewhere in the near future I will, but as for now, I will focus on protecting the Golden from potential enemies. I have a goal, and that is to protect the world and its balance. If your goal is the same, then there is no reason for us to be on different sides."

Elise grunted angrily. Wilhelmina's word made sense, but there was no way she would let Golden away.

"Now," Wilhelmina spoke again, "According to our promise before the battle, you shall stay out of this Golden affair."

"Over my dead body!" Elise screamed. With a sudden burst of energy, she broke free of the ribbons wrapping around her right arm and sent a ball of fire at Wilhelmina, whose eyes went wide with surprise.

Whoosh. Then there came a strong wind that put out the fire before it could do any harm at Wilhelmina.

"Ryosuke!" Elise shouted angrily.

Ryosuke appeared, floating in midair behind Wilhelmina, his face covered by his hood. "You really shouldn't have done that. You could've killed her. And as far as a moron can tell, you two are not supposed to kill each other in this battle."

"I told you not to interrupt!" Elise said with gritted teeth as she broke free of the ribbons, as Wilhelmina had already loosened her grip on them.

"If I had known that you were going to be such a scum I would've interrupted right from the start," Ryosuke said, and after a 'What did you say?' from Elise, he continued, "You know she's injured, and you still wanna pick a fight with her. You know she can't win with her injuries, so you seized the opportunity. You were always like that, taking advantage of the weak."

"Shut up at once," Elise said, pointing her sword at Ryosuke, "Or your head's gonna come off."

"Oh yeah? You sure you can do it? You're always like that, all bark and no bite," Ryosuke taunted. He placed his arm in front of Wilhelmina and said, "Stand back. Shit's just about to get serious." Two huge shurikens appeared on both his hands.

"Why are you on Golden's side now? I thought that all this while you and your gang wanted its powers…"

"I never said I was on his side. But I will not let you destroy Golden, not when Wilhelmina is trying to protect it."

"Tch… Stop trying to play the hero in front of this woman."

"So what if I am? I live for this part, baby!"

He suddenly charged at Elise, who barely managed to dodge it. He then gave her a barrage of quick slashes, which she blocked all of them. Then she went on the offensive, hacking Ryosuke with all her strength.

"As always, you never go easy on me every time we spar." Ryosuke said, a smile appeared on his lips.

"But this time shall be different from our previous scuffles," Elise retorted, and she too smiled.

"Oh yeah? How so?"

"Because this time…"

She knocked one of Ryosuke's shurikens out of his hand.

"I will finish you off!"

"Oh shit!"

Ryosuke made a bad attack with his shuriken, and Elise sliced him in the back. He screamed as the blood gushed out from his back.

"Elise… What the hell has gotten into you? You're too obsessed about destroying Golden….. You're going crazy!"

"I just want to protect this world. Golden has to be destroyed. That thing is too dangerous to let it roam around."

"Elise, listen to me! Help us out! The only reason that Golden is dangerous is because of Kuvestar! He's the one who's trying to abuse its powers! Look, the Golden has existed for thousands of years already, but the world was still safe until now! Nobody even really knows that the thing existed or not! It's only until now that someone managed to find out."

Wilhelmina walked towards Elise and said, "Yes, we need your help in stopping Kuvestar. I certainly do not wish to be enemies with you."

"Why are you so persistent in protecting Golden?" Elise asked, lowering her weapon.

"Because… Michiru is innocent," Wilhelmina touched her left arm and continued, "Back then I never understood how Shana felt when I tried to destroy the Reiji Maigo. But now I understand… Yuji Sakai never chose to become a Mystes, it was unfair for him to suffer, that was why Shana was trying to protect him."

"So that's why you want to protect Golden?"

Wilhelmina shook her head.

"No. I want to protect Michiru."

Elise sighed. "Yeah there's no point in fighting you anyway. We call truce. But under the worst situations, Golden will still have to be destroyed okay. You're a Flame Haze; you should know yourself that you shouldn't let emotions get ahead of you. We have a duty in protecting this world."

Ryosuke's eyes narrowed under his hood.

"Tch… It's always about Michiru, huh… I guess there's still work to do in order to break them apart." He grunted silently.

x

Authors' Notes: Yo everyone finally I managed to update 1 more chapter though it's relatively short D= So ummm hope you all continue following this story then. ^^ Sorry for the long wait.

Misty Nightmare asked me on PM how long my story is going to be. To be honest I haven't even came up with a desired ending (or even a rough ending) for that matter. Haha I guess I might continue a lot more chapters. I'll update when I have the time so please be patient =D

hignum: No swearing from Elise this time. Hope you're satisfied. =) I had actually planned to have a scene where Ryosuke says that he used to have a crush on Elise (it was slightly mentioned in one of my previous chapters), but something else in that scene made her seem really nasty, and I don't want Elise to look too much like a villain so I deleted that scene. I guess this current scene will do, though it's kinda bland haha ^^


	28. A Foolish Lovebird

Chapter 28 – A Foolish Lovebird

It was almost two hours past midnight when a young man with medium length silver hair arrived at the airport in Japan. His height was average, and his features were good. He had soft looking grey eyes to go with his thin eyebrows, which was also silvery like his hair. He wore a black long-sleeved jacket with black long pants, as well as dark-colored sneakers. There was a cross-shaped badge pinned to his chest.

This guy held a picture in his hand. The picture showed a girl with flaming hair and fiery eyes. He looked at the picture as he walked out of the airport. Surprisingly, there were less people than usual.

"This is the Enpatsu Shakugan no Uchite, Shana. A Flame Haze contracted to the Flame of Heavens, Alastor." He said to seemingly no one in particular. His voice was that of a generic teenage male's. "And I'm supposed kill her. Sounds easy enough..."

"You should not underestimate your opponent." A coarse voice came from the cross-shaped badge. "They are a force to be reckoned with. You must have heard stories about the Flame Hazes contracted to this particular Crimson Lord."

"Yeah, of course I did. They all died. This one isn't going to be different." The silver haired youth replied smugly.

"Allen, I will not repeat myself." The Crimson Lord said angrily, "If you let your guard down against this opponent, you will not live to see tomorrow. They are unlike all the enemies you have faced so far."

"Yeah, this'll be the first time... I battle a fellow Flame Haze." Allen said, and a silence hung between them.

A long time had passed before Allen's Crimson Lord spoke again, "Your duty as a Flame Haze is to protect the balance of this world, not to kill others who protect the balance like you do. I do not think that you have made the right decision; you have been manipulated by the enemy, through and through."

"You don't have to keep telling me that," Allen replied crossly, "Lena means everything to me; I will do anything to get her back."

"From the beginning I kept advising you, not to fall in love with that human girl, but you would not listen. Humans are weak, Allen, and falling in love with one has made you weak too. Now look what you've gotten yourself into. Your girl got kidnapped by the enemy, and they want you to kill one of your own kind to get her back-"

"Not just one. If the decoy team fails to do the job or doesn't procrastinate long enough, I would potentially battle against five Flame Hazes." Allen cut across him. He recalled the plan in his mind. There were supposedly five Flame Hazes in Misaki City: Shana, Margery Daw, Wilhelmina Carmel, Arken Varles and Elise. A battalion from the Bal Masque army will act as distraction and attack an Outlaw branch not far from here, and one of the spies working at Outlaw will summon the four other Flame Haze to battle there. He had no idea how long the battle will last, but with four powerful Flame Hazes on the same team it sure would not take very long. All he had to do was to kill his target before the other Flame Hazes return, or else he would surely meet his doom. Then his "employer" will return the kidnapped Lena to him once he completed his job.

"And if five of them were to attack you at once, you think you can kill them all?"

Allen crushed the picture in his palm. "I will kill them all, Cross, if they stand in my way." He said coldly.

"You are very courageous... And yet, very foolish... What a foolish lovebird you are, Allen." Cross commented. "Remember, Allen. We are not sure whether if that Mystes will hold onto his word or not."

"Like I had a choice... I have to trust him no matter how." Allen snorted. "I wonder what's so special about Misaki City to have attracted five Flame Hazes." He said, changing the subject, but he was very curious as well.

"You really should go back to elementary school and learn more Mathematics. Allen Zimmer's arrival makes it six." Cross said with a laugh.

"And killing the Enpatsu will make it five once more." Allen said with a laugh too.

X x x

Meanwhile, Wilhelmina had finished her battle with Elise and was treating Ryosuke's wounds. However they barely had enough time to rest as Arken arrived very quickly in a chopper. Wilhelmina was taken aback when she saw Margery Daw standing beside him.

"Hey guys, I have some bad news." Arken said to the two Flame Hazes and a Mystes below.

"Okay let's hear it." Elise said quickly.

Arken sighed and said. "The Outlaw branch in Atlanta has been attacked, and they need reinforcements. From what I heard from the messenger, situation's very bad. They've nearly breached the inner defenses."

"What? Why would they attack there?" Elise exclaimed.

"That's exactly what I thought. Strange. The Outlaw at Atlanta is pretty much non-existent. Not many people, not much information kept there, and no Flame Hazes ever go there. In fact I didn't even know that there was an Outlaw branch in Atlanta before I received the report."

"Are there any Flame Hazes defending the building?" Wilhelmina asked abruptly.

"Just one: Rebecca Reed, Scatterer of Sparkling Light. But she's wounded rather badly and won't be able to hold on much longer. We have to move as fast as we can and assist her." Arken said.

Wilhelmina gasped after Arken mentioned the name of the Flame Haze. Rebecca Reed was an old friend of hers; she had assisted her many times in the battlefield centuries ago. She had not seen or even heard from her for decades, although she knew that she was alive and well. And now Rebecca was injured while protecting the Outlaw. She had to be there to assist her, no matter what.

And without thinking, Wilhelmina leapt onto the chopper and took a seat. Margery came and sat beside her.

"It's good to see you again." Margery said, smiling at her. Wilhelmina tried to give her a little grin, but her face still looked expressionless. However, deep down inside she felt good to see Margery again too. If her thoughts were not so distracted by Rebecca, she would have asked whether Margery was out of town for the past two months, because she had not heard anything from her. Instead she only sat silently beside her, looking at the floor, her eyes barely moving.

"Come on, what you waiting for? Get on the chopper!" Arken shouted to Elise.

"What makes you think I'm coming with you?" Elise said smugly, folding her arms. "Do you really expect me to leave this place when Golden is already within my reach?"

"Golden's not gonna disappear, you know..." Arken said. "You can postpone that for now. Let's go kick some Denizen ass."

"No." Elise said defiantly. "If you wanna fight so badly, go on your own. Don't tell me you can't settle a few puny Denizens on your own."

"Elise, I'm serious here."

"I know. So am I, Arken. You're wasting your time here. I'm not wasting my time on an insignificant Outlaw branch. Golden is more than a million times more important than that."

"Thousand Change Sydonay of the Trinity is leading the charges, along with Fecor and Purson beside him. You know their power. And they've also spotted two unknown Crimson Lords among their ranks. They are now fighting even as we speak. At this rate, Outlaw isn't going to last much longer. Think of the lives that will be lost. If it falls, you will forever be remembered and hated as the irresponsible Flame Haze who avoided the battle and cost us the war."

"Say whatever you want, Arken." Elise said, turning around to leave. "I don't care."

"How could you even say that...!" Arken swore.

"Hey, why not I go with you guys?" Ryosuke said suddenly.

"Don't start bullshitting, you're a Mystes." Arken snapped.

"So? I'm strong enough to beat a Flame Haze." Ryosuke retorted.

"Yeah, and at the cost of what? Wasting your power of existence and then giving it up? This will be a huge battle, your current existence won't have enough to cover the entire skirmish. You'll die one way or the other. Forget it. This is no time to be a hero."

"I don't mind. I'm willing to do this for her." Ryosuke said.

"That's the lamest excuse I've heard from someone in a century..." Arken smacked his own forehead. "Fine, since you seem to enjoy throwing your life away, do as you please." Arken sighed, resigned.

Ryosuke grinned and leaped for the chopper, but before he could steady his feet as he landed, someone grabbed his hood from behind and slammed him to the ground down below. When he shook off his dizziness, he saw Elise standing in the chopper, her back against him. Although she turned her head around a little, he wasn't sure whether she was looking at him or not.

"Make sure nothing happens to Golden." She ordered in a calm demeanor.

Ryosuke smiled at her as the chopper flew away swiftly, although she might not have caught it.

"Can you believe it? It actually freaking worked!" Ryosuke said, getting back up on his feet and looking at his left side. There was someone standing there. A tall Mystes dressed in black. He had shoulder-length black hair and black eyes that gives out despair and emptiness.

"I don't give a darned shit about your pathetic love life." Kuvestar said, "But I give you credit for sending her away. You've done the unexpected."

"She loves me! Ha ha ha ha! She loves me!" Ryosuke chuckled dreamily, "It seems that she cares about me after all! I was right to have a crush on her back then."

"I thought you love the maid now. Tch... You're still not over her?"

"She's still hot..." Ryosuke shrugged, "So, should I call our friend and ask him to get ready?"

"Not yet. You and I have something to do first."

"Ha, aren't you paranoid? Now that the Flame Hazes are gone we can quickly proceed with our plan already."

"No. I've learnt from my mistakes in the past. I do not want any interference. I'll make sure that, this time, everything WILL go according to plan."

"We're really going to set up a barrier over Misaki City? No shit?"

"No shit."

"Save your powers, boss. The Flame Hazes are never coming back... ever. Arken will make sure of that. Let's just ask dude to come out and finish his job."

"You can never be too cautious, Ryo."

"Fine... Let's do a little checking on the surroundings and make sure that nothing goes wrong with the barrier too after we set it up."

"That's the spirit, Ryo..."

"Yeah whatever..."

XxX

"Ai-chan, get up already! Do you have any idea what time it is now?"

"Mom… it's the holidays! Let me sleep in a little!"

"No! Get up this moment and have your breakfast!"

"Mom, go away! I still want to sleep!"

Ai's mother gave her a really painful twist in the ear that made her scream.

"Ouch! Okay! Okay! I'm sorry! I'll get up! I'll get up so please stop!"

"This will teach you a lesson about being rude to your elders! Have you learnt your lesson, Ai Takasu?"

Ai whimpered and massaged her ear before her mother said, "Breakfast is ready on the table. There's _his_ share too, so don't finish up everything."

Now Ai seemed to have shaken off her morning grogginess which she always had. Last night, she had found Michiru lying under the tree outside her house when she looked outside the window. She never liked looking outside the window, especially when at night, but good thing she did, or else she would not have found him unconscious and would be unable to treat his wounds.

He did not wake when she shook him last night, and that scared her a lot. She wondered if he was beaten up unconscious, or he fainted all of a sudden. Maybe the latter, since there were no signs of beating she could see. However there was a small lump at the back of his head. She had quickly brought him back into the house and treated his wounds. He was probably still unconscious.

After wolfing down her breakfast, she headed to the room where Michiru was currently resting. She went over and touched him on the forehead. No sign of fever. She knew he was safe from his breathing. It seemed to have become normal. She gave him a silent prayer, and soon enough, Michiru woke up.

"Senpai, you have awakened!" Ai said happily.

"Ai-chan?" Michiru murmured, squinting his eyes while he looked at her. He felt rather groggy. He put his hand on his temple. "How did I... get here?" He said weakly

Ai sat beside him, looking concerned. "I found you outside my house last night, right under that tree. You were unconscious, so I brought you in here to rest."

Michiru shut his eyes and thought about last night. All the memories seemed to be returning to him. He had pretended to faint when he was awake, tricked Wilhelmina, and when he was caught in the act, she had ran off. He went out to look for her and talked to her. Then Ryosuke interrupted them. He knocked him out and took Wilhelmina away...

"Damn..." He cursed. He hoped that Ryosuke would not do any harm to Wilhelmina, although he would not dare to anyway. Wilhelmina could protect herself, and he would have at least four Flame Hazes to answer to if something were to happen to her.

"Are you feeling okay?" Ai asked. "Does your head still hurt?"

"I feel fine." Michiru replied briefly, sitting up immediately, "Does sting a little though..."

"So..." Ai said. There was an awkward silence. She blushed. "A-about that time... At the Horror House... I'm... I'm sorry I... threw a temper at you. I must have spoiled everybody's mood, didn't I?"

"Well..." Michiru said, knitting his eyebrows; after everything that had transpired so far, he was barely able to recall it, "Keisaku got jealous, Tanaka said something about his crush... Wait, was it the other way round? Then Ogata-san stomped my foot. So, yeah I guess you did. But I was the one who caused it, so it's my fault, I deserved it."

"N-no..." Ai said in such a soft voice it was barely a whisper.

"I should have told you that I was going to be with some friends. I'm sorry for being so insensitive." He said, "I... errr... used to study in a guy's school before this, so I'm not very good at this kind of stuff... I intended to bring you to meet my friends, and we can have fun together. I didn't know you were thinking about a one-on-one date."

He lied. The reason he had gotten a little intimate with her was to find out whether she was Kojiro Takasu's sister, and to use her as a hostage.

"Don't apologize! I should be the one! I... I got overexcited about a date with you, so I was disappointed, and I... I was being really awful... I..." She looked close to tears.

"I don't blame you for anything." Michiru said in a reassuring tone. "Because you were not at fault at all. And can we drop this? It's not a happy thing, nothing to discuss about. What matters most now is that we're talking again, that's most important."

Ai nodded, although she looked like she was about to burst into either words of apology, or tears.

"Thanks for taking care of me," Michiru said, "But I have to go now, I can't stay any longer."

He stood up. Ai looked as if she wanted to push him back to bed.

"Where are you going to?" Ai asked exasperatedly.

"I'm going to go find..." He paused for a moment, "Yuji. He's my classmate. I live with him currently."

"A guy?" Ai asked.

"Well... Yeah..." Michiru said, feeling that Ai was rather peculiar. He was sure he had used the word "he".

"Oh... Oh..." Ai said, looking embarrassed, "I'm sorry... I... I shouldn't have asked... Err... err... you want to go then... Ok... Ok..."

"Why are you so nervous all of a sudden?" Michiru smiled.

"No no no! I'm not! I... I... I just... I... Oh!" She jumped slightly, "Mom has prepared your breakfast, so... can you go after you've finished it? Please?"

"Wow... Is your place a hospital or a hotel? Such great service..." Michiru commented, making Ai blush even more. Maybe she was thinking about other stuff when he mentioned the word "hotel".

He ate his breakfast quickly, thanked Ai and her mother, and left the house. He let out a sigh of relief. That girl was indeed bad news. Just his luck, to be saved by her when there were so many people living within the vicinity.

He did not know where to go to look for Wilhelmina; Ryosuke could have brought her to Antartica, so he decided to head home and see if Yuji or Shana were at home and if they knew about Wilhelmina's whereabouts. After some walking, Shana miraculously appeared in front of him a few feet away, her hands on her waist, looking extremely cross. She stormed towards him, her eyes staring angrily at Michiru.

"Where is Wilhelmina?" She asked, her angry eyes indicating that if Michiru did not give her a satisfying answer she would eat him alive.

"I was about to ask you the same question. I have no idea." Michiru said, trying to keep his tone as calmly as possible, but he was already feeling even more scared than the time they confronted Sabrac.

"You were with her last night. And she has not returned until NOW!" Shana said, pronouncing each word slowly, ending her sentence with a yell. Gosh, she was indeed furious!

"I was with her only a little while. Then Ryosuke knocked me out and took her somewhere else." Michiru said truthfully. Shana's eyes seemed to relax a little.

"What?" She said.

"Yeah... She actually followed him, rather than take him away by force. That's what makes it strange." Michiru added.

"You are not lying, are you?" She demanded, "You didn't take her somewhere and slept together-"

"No, I didn't!" Michiru spoke loudly. He would never dare to do that, not even in his wildest dreams. "Like I said, Ryosuke took her, and I don't know where they went."

He recalled that Ryosuke had said he was going to bring her to a church and get married, but anyone with brains could tell that it was a sarcastic lie.

Michiru noticed that Shana suddenly looked very calm. She shut her eyes, as if trying to feel something.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

She did not reply. Her eyes still shut. Abruptly she opened them, put on her black coat that seemed to come out of nowhere, and drew her sword, the Nietono no Shana. "Fuzetsu." She said coolly.

"You can't be serious!" Michiru groaned. He knew Shana was somewhat of a hothead with a short temper, but this was too much for him to take. She was going to kill him for something he had not done?

"Get out of the way..." She said, unexpectedly looking very aware. Her eyes darted around, as if searching for something, or looking at a bouncing ball.

"What?" Michiru was somewhat startled by her change of attitude.

"I feel an aggressive presence. Someone is out to kill." She said.

"And that gush of energy seems to be emanating from a Flame Haze." Alastor pointed out.

"Go and get Yuji." Shana ordered Michiru, "Find an excuse and take him out of town. I have a feeling this battle will be an aggressive one, and I don't want him to be in danger. He will come no matter what if he knows I'm fighting."

"He'll be at home, right?"

Shana nodded.

"Be careful, Shana-chan." Michiru said and quickly left. He pondered whether to tell Yuji the truth or not. He would come for Wilhelmina too if she were battling. And if Yuji were to lie to him he would feel livid as well. As he ran, he made up his mind. He certainly had not lied when he told Ai that he wanted to look for Yuji.

"I just want you to know that, I could have attacked on you without you even noticing me just now. But I don't harm the innocent. That boy was. I only want your head." Allen said when he appeared and stood face-to-face with Shana, a huge metallic cross on his right hand. He was holding the shorter end.

"Why do you want to attack us?" Shana demanded. She knew that not all Flame Hazes are friendly and make good allies, but still, they do not attack one another without reason.

"Because someone told me too." Allen replied.

"Are you hired by the Bal Masque?" Shana asked.

"No. It was someone else. I won't mention names to you; it's pointless. You won't remember them anyway after our battle." Allen said coldly.

"I have no idea why you will want to attack us," Shana said, readying her sword, "But I will show no mercy for you, even if you're a Flame Haze."

"I know. I wasn't planning to be merciful either." Allen said, "I really don't want to do this, but they will harm Lena if I don't kill you. So just shut up and die already."

"I will not die so easily. You shall be the one who will die. You'll regret picking a fight with me." Shana retorted.

"We'll see..." Allen murmured, "We'll see..."


	29. Treachery of a Flame Haze

Chapter 29 – Treachery of a Flame Haze

"You know, this stupid chopper is so darn slow I swear that I can ride my bike faster than the speed this crap is going right now." Elise grunted, folding her arms while watching Arken controlling the chopper beside her.

"Then get the heck out of my chopper and ride your darned bike." Arken snapped.

"Just make it go faster, alright?" Elise groaned. "I don't wanna pick a quarrel with you right now."

"So stop bitching me, this is the fastest speed this thing can go."

"Who's bitching you now!?"

And Arken received a tight slap. Elise stormed out of the assistant pilot's seat and sat beside Margery and a silent Wilhelmina.

"I can't help but thinking that something fishy is going on." Elise said to them.

"If that's the case why are you even on this ride?" Margery asked.

"_That_'s the reason I'm here for." Elise said, folding her arms, "Everything just doesn't feel right. Why is Bal Masque planning such a heavy attack on Atlanta? It's not like there's anything special about that place."

"The premise is small, there are less Outlaws working there, and not much information is kept there. Due to that Atlanta was never well-guarded because it was considered a small branch. There is no need for Bal Masque to attack at all, let alone with so many top warriors in their hordes." Wilhelmina said.

"Maybe there was some sort of top secret with that place that not even we know it?" Margery suggested.

"And Bal Masque just happened to find out about a secret when not even us Flame Haze know about, didn't they?" Elise snorted.

Margery did not look pleased, but did not bother to argue with her.

"Rebecca Reed was stationed there, but for what purpose..." Elise mumbled. She had helped Wilhelmina to speak her concern. "That's puzzling too..."

"Maybe she was nearby doing something else, and then called in to defend Outlaw?" Margery said.

"Then she'll be the unluckiest being on Earth, having to defend the place alone against a strong adversary you wouldn't expect at a place like that. Either that, or there's some kind of a conspiracy going on within Outlaw that we didn't know."

"My, aren't you paranoid?" Margery pointed out.

"This is too much of a coincidence. Bal Masque attacking an oblivion place, only one Flame Haze happened to be stationed there, and now we're abandoning Golden just do protect this stupid Outlaw branch." Elise said angrily.

"Shana is in Misaki City with Michiru." Wilhelmina said.

"Hmmm... Shana... Why didn't Arken call for her as well? He said that he needed as much firepower as he can."

"Do you not trust him? Are you not partners?" Wilhelmina asked.

"I don't trust anyone. And he's not my partner or any of that sort... He's the one who tipped me off that Golden is in Misaki City, and I came with him. That's that." Elise replied.

She turned to look at Margery. "You were away from Misaki City for quite some time, right? Where were you, and how did you end up with that guy?"

"I was on a vac- I mean mission in Bangkok." Margery said. "Don't ask for the details, but as soon as I finished it Arken picked me up. So here I am."

"I hope Rebecca Reed is okay." Wilhelmina finally voiced out her concern.

"She should be able to hold off on her own before we get there. So don't worry too much." Margery reassured her, giving a pat on her shoulder.

"You know what, worry about yourself first; you seem to have a tendency of losing decisive battles, and we can't have you dying on us." Elise said.

Wilhelmina nodded again, unsure of what to say, but grateful for them just the same.

Xxx

"Yuji." Michiru said seriously as he entered Sakai residence. Surprisingly Yuji was doing his revision in the dining table. He had never done that before ever since they lived together.

"You're back." Yuji said. He searched for someone invisible behind Michiru.

"Didn't Shana and Carmel-san come back with you?" He asked.

"She's fighting right now." Michiru said quickly. "Shana-chan I mean."

"I know. She sensed some Rinnes in the city and went to take them down. She said that she'll look for you and Carmel-san on the way."

"She lied. There weren't any Rinnes. She's fighting another Flame Haze."

"What?"

"Yes. She told me to lie to you and take you out of town, cause it's dangerous, but I doubt I wanna lie to you. I know how much you care for her."

"Where is she right now?" Yuji demanded. "Is she okay?"

"I'd take you to her, but can you fight?" Michiru asked.

"I'm not good at fighting, but..." Yuji said, tensely, "I want to fight alongside Shana and protect her! And she needs me by her side too. That's why... I have to be there!"

Michiru nearly smiled. He would do the same thing for Wilhelmina too. He had Yuji had much in common.

"She's going to kill me for this, but whatever..." Michiru sighed, "Let's go."

Xxx

"Alright, ladies: This is it." Arken said seriously as they finally arrived at Atlanta. "We're here. Get ready."

Elise stood up and looked outside. Sure enough, she could see a battle going on somewhere below. Wilhelmina could here sounds of familiar explosions far below - Rebecca was blasting away her enemies.

"Something doesn't seem right... I don't see Thousand Change Sydonay or anyone that you mentioned earlier." Elise pointed out as they got closer, "In fact, there were hardly any enemy numbers at all, and the battle's almost won already."

She turned around, looking exasperated.

"Arken, you lied to me?" Elise demanded.

Arken smiled sinisterly at her.

"Bingo."

He said and leapt of the chopper, leap of faith style. Elise reached for him, but Arken was already halfway down. He was still smiling at her, and Elise could see something that looks extremely similar like a bomb detonator on his hand.

Her eyes went wide when she heard the bomb started ticking. "SHIT!" She screamed.

Wilhelmina acted upon instincts and quickly conjured up ribbons to protect herself. But even that could not prevent her from feeling excruciating pain when the chopper exploded into pieces.

"Bitches..." Arken mumbled.

Meanwhile Rebecca was having a little fun blasting her enemies into oblivion.

"Take that!" She shouted as her explosions hit the enemies. "And that!"

"Hey! Need a hand?"

She heard someone shout from above and looked up. Arken was slowly falling down with style, grinning.

"No worries dude, I got it!" Rebecca replied confidently. "I'll finish them off with THIS!"

There was only one small army of Crimson Denizens left. Rebecca summoned a circle of energy on top of them. With a snap, an explosion huge and loud was created.

"That'll teach them not to mess with us." She said, wiping sweat from her forehead after destroying her last enemies. "And that settles it..."

She had let her guard down. Arken struck her with a slash of his sword from behind on his way down. Rebecca screamed as blood gushed out of her wound.

"That settles it too." Arken said coolly.

Wilhelmina hit the ground. Surprisingly the ground was soft enough to lessen the damage of the fall. If she had fallen on hard concrete her head would have surely split into two. She tried to stand up, but lacked the strength, so she got onto her knees instead.

She looked around. She had fallen on a football field. Elise and Margery lay somewhere beside her, entire body covered in blood and burns, moaning in pain. Wilhelmina's wounds were less, but not by a considerable amount. Her left leg was pretty much numb as the explosion hit that part of her worst. She could hardly feel it there. Also, she had a few bruises on the rest of her body too, but it was still bearable.

She quickly wrapped her slightly mutated left leg with her ribbons. She attempted to heal it, but a wave of dizziness which hit her suddenly made her unable to do so. She was getting weak, and there were two comrades who needed more medical attention then her, so she decided not to waste her strength. With tremendous force and willpower, she managed to drag herself to them. She was losing blood, and her head was getting dizzier and dizzier every second. She had not fully recovered after her battle with Sabrac, which she had lost a huge amount of blood, and now she was losing more blood again.

Wrapping her ribbons around Elise's body, she began to cast her healing spell while kneeling beside her. But halfway throughout the process Elise grabbed her hand firmly.

"Save your energy. I'll be fine." She said determinedly but weakly.

But Wilhelmina ignored her and continued with her spell.

"Enough!" Elise bellowed angrily and pushed her away. Wilhelmina hit the ground, feeling weaker than ever.

She thought of Margery as her consciousness was slowly fading away. No, she had to hold on. Margery was bleeding even worse than her, and she had to close her wounds at least, to stop her from losing more blood.

And without thinking, she had dragged herself towards Margery and healed her wounds. She was barely able to notice what she was doing the entire time. All she knew was that she had to make sure that her two allies are away from peril. And that gave her enough energy to keep going.

"You stupid..." Margery croaked weakly. "You'll end up killing yourself. Stop."

But Wilhelmina did not care. If she did not stop the bleeding they would die, and she would not let that happen.

"You really should listen to her and stop, you know." A sarcastic voice rang from behind her. Wilhelmina turned her dizzy head around. She was so dizzy that she could not even see the figure. But she knew who it was.

"Because you still have one more to heal. You won't be able to heal Rebecca Reed if you die, understand that?" Arken said smugly. It was only then Wilhelmina noticed that Arken was carrying someone on his shoulder.

He tossed Rebecca at the ground in front of Wilhelmina.

"Go ahead. Round 3. See if you can survive." He taunted.

"Ar...ken..." Elise croaked, gritting her teeth. "You... *cough* *cough* bastard..."

"Whaddaya know... She's still able to talk!" Arken laughed. He knelt beside her and yanked her up by the hair. Elise grimaced.

"Why... you... betrayed..." Elise forced herself to speak.

"Don't ask pointless questions." Arken said coolly. Then he slammed her face-first into the ground, very hard, making her nose bleed.

He stood up and looked at Wilhelmina, who was swooning but still busy tending to Rebecca's wounds.

"Very stubborn one, aren't you?" He sneered. "You really don't realize that whatever you're doing now is futile? All of you are under my mercy now; I could kill you in less than a second if I want to."

"Why are you doing this?" Wilhelmina managed to get these words out of her mouth after tremendous force.

"Why am I doing this? Huh? _I_ should be the one asking, why is everybody asking me pointless questions today? I want to destroy humanity, of course!"

"How could you say that..." Elise said angrily, "You... as a Flame Haze..."

"Should protect the balance of the world? Don't give me that kind of bullshit! I've heard enough! We've been protecting these darned humans for millennia. And what do we get in return? Our own demise. All this time we protect the humans, sacrificing ourselves, getting killed by Crimson Lords, and they don't even know about our existence!"

"That still does not-" Elise said.

"Humans are heading towards their own extinction anyway. Nuclear wars, murder, Justin Bieber... They're killing themselves here, why are we even trying to protect them? It's better if they're gone from this world... The Crimson Denizens would be the best excuse for that."

"So that's why you're joining forces with the Crimson Denizens!?"

"Better to ally with them than with the ungrateful useless humans. Understand this, preys are meant to be hunted by the hunters. You can't stop this from happening. This is the world we live in. Same goes to the human world."

"You cannot make everyone a hunter. Then they will have nothing to hunt." Wilhelmina said angrily, trying to get onto her feet.

Arken snorted, "Just shut up and sit down, alright. There's no need for you to act tough right now. I know how weak you are... Your dear Michiru isn't going to see you in this state anyway, so quit the act."

Wilhelmina gasped loudly. After all that happened she did not even remember him. Now everything started to click into place for her. Of course, Arken had lured the Flame Hazes away from Golden, so that his allies could get to him. But Shana was still left in Misaki City. Wilhelmina knew that Arken had intentionally left her there, there was no way he could have forgotten about her. But why?

"You goddamned..." Elise coughed out some blood, "What are you planning to do to Golden?"

"Another pointless question! I thought it's crystal clear by now!" Arken laughed. "I'm going to use it to destroy everything!"

"You..." Rebecca groaned. She had regained consciousness and had listened to part of their conversation.

"Lemme tell you something. But first, lemme correct your perspective on Golden. There's this stupid legend going around about a Treasure Tool being beyond godlike powerful and grants immortality. Some asshole even gave him a title – The Flame of Everlasting. That is bullshit on our little Golden. It's far from being godlike, and it's not immortal. Golden absorbs power of existence from sunlight, and stores it. Keep it locked up in darkness for a century, it's going to extinguish anyway. Just like every single Torch in the world."

Wilhelmina's head was dizzy, but surprisingly she could still make out what Arken was trying to say.

"Golden is a darn smart Treasure Tool. It's got its own consciousness. It's more than an object. It's a being. AND it's overzealous. It doesn't even know what its existence is for."

"You are the one abusing it!" Elise yelled.

"That, coming from a Flame Haze who wanted to destroy it?" Arken laughed, "Oh, and by the way, don't interrupt me when I talk. I'm gonna tell a story, so dig your ears and listen carefully.

"I was one of the humans who first existed. Yeah I bet you're imagining me not wearing anything right now, but nah, I'm smarter than all the other humans put together, so don't think of me as the same league as them.

"So back to my story, one day a Crimson Lord came to see me and asked if I would form a contract with him. So I asked, what's the benefit. He said, power, and immortality. THAT, is what mankind would die for, no way I'd say no. So yeah, I became a Flame Haze.

"And another day a stupid Crimson Denizen came into this world and ate pretty much all of the humans here. I killed it and turned the humans into Torches. And the Denizen had a buddy or something who was a Crimson Lord. He was angry because I killed his buddy, so he fought me. I was no match for him, I almost died. And suddenly a man stood in front of me, his entire body glowing in a golden colour, holding a sword, glowing in golden as well. And he struck the Crimson Lord so fast that I think I'd miss it if I blinked. And then the glowing stopped. I saw a golden flame burning inside the Mystes's body. And then it was gone, replaced by the normal blue flame everyone had.

"The Mystes, no I should say Torch, never showed any special powers again, and soon his existence disappeared from this world. I thought I was never gonna see it again. But I saw it again. One day during the medieval times. Two groups of soldiers were at war. The red team lost to the blue team, they tried to retreat, but the soldiers were eventually killed. Then finally there was only one soldier left. I saw them about to strike him the final blow, and then, whoosh, the Golden Flame was somehow activated inside his body, and with a swing of his sword. All his enemies were dead on the spot. One soldier had killed almost a hundred thousand with only one swing. And I think to myself, damn, I'm gonna get that power.

"But the stupid Golden just disappeared too. And so for several millennia I hunted for it. I saw it a few more times, but it keeps on disappearing from my eyes before I can get my hands on it. It's really frustrating, and I almost gave up on my fruitless attempts. But now... Lady Luck is finally on my side. I managed to find a Mystes who absorb others' powers and use it as his own. Talk about overkill. And Golden seems to have been stuck in a Mystes' body. Finally things are looking good for me. Since Golden won't let me use its powers, I'll just have to borrow it via someone else!

"What do you mean won't let you use its powers?" Elise demanded.

"Like I said, Golden is intelligent. It's got its own consciousness. Remember the time Michiru fought Sabrac? Well, it was more like Golden was fighting Sabrac via Michiru's body. So yeah, Golden has its own consciousness. And it's over zealous. It thinks it's some kinda god or something, that it doesn't want itself to end up in the hands of evil people like me. So, it enters a Torch, takes over its existence. And guess what, it erases the memory of the person it takes over. So if it were to possess Najib or Osama, he'd turn him into a saint instead. A measure to prevent evil. Some kind of god, behaving like a freaking parasite..."

Wilhelmina remembered that Michiru had told her that he did not remember his own past. She wanted to ask why Golden never left Michiru's body, if it likes to change hosts in order to hide its own existence. But Elise spoke before she could.

"Tch... so you allied with Kuvestar... Don't you realize what you're doing, you f-"

"Hmmmm... Unless I'm mistaken, didn't you do the same thing as well?" Arken mocked. "We seem to have many things in common, don't we? No wonder we make such good partners."

"Don't compare your filthy self to me!" Elise snapped.

"Say whatever you want, it still won't change the fact that this world that you dearest Flame Hazes want to protect will be destroyed. And I'll make sure that it's done right in front of your eyes, so I'll keep you alive... for now..." He began to laugh like crazy.

"I understand now... you were the mastermind behind all this... not Kuvestar... You used him as a decoy..." Elise said.

"Now, now, don't say that! That guy wanted immortality and the destruction of this world too! Like I said, which mankind wouldn't wish for that?" Arken snorted. "You can't just blame everything on me!"

"Golden itself would prevent anyone from using its power, but Kuvestar could use its powers by duplicating them." Wilhelmina said. "So that is why he was the perfect piece for your puzzle."

"Bingo. You're so smart. And since you're so clever and beautiful, lemme tell you something. Shana is fighting someone in Misaki City. That someone will defeat her, Michiru will activate Golden's powers to save her, and Kuvestar will grab his powers. And he'll destroy everything. Period."

The four Flame Hazes gasped.

"No wonder... you were adamant in bringing us here... And you left Shana behind..." Elise moaned.

"I have to make sure that my plan will succeed without fail this time. The previous time we attempted something like this, this bitch here (he pointed at Wilhelmina) managed to interfere even while she was unconscious. Guess she must have loved him too much. But Shana, Shana hates him, but Michiru will still protect her. He's Yuji's best buddy, right? Oh, and speaking of Yuji, you know why I still left him there? Well, his face when Shana is about to die will cause Michiru to trigger Golden. Oh, and we've set up a barrier on Misaki City, so even if you guys were able to head back there somehow, you'll still get repelled by it and can't enter. See? My ploy is flawless! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

"No..." Wilhelmina muttered.

"What?" Arken said. He knelt beside her and said in a slow voice. "What did you say?"

"There is a flaw in your plan." Wilhelmina said weakly but firmly, staring fiercely into Arken's eyes. "Kuvestar may obtain Golden's powers, but he cannot steal it, so Golden still retains his abilities. Golden will protect this world. If Kuvestar wants to destroy the world, he would have to go through Golden first. Golden has been practicing its powers for centuries, while Kuvestar has just obtained its powers. He will not stand a chance against Golden. All your work will be for naught."

"Hmmm... you're right... I kinda overlooked this point." Arken said while scratching his chin. "But it doesn't matter. All I gotta do is head back and assist Kuvestar in that fight. I've been fighting for millennia too. That'd turn the tables around."

"You cannot. You have set up the barrier. You cannot enter Misaki City anymore." Wilhelmina retorted.

Arken's face darkened. Now only he realized that his plan seemed to have backfired on him. In order to vent out his anger, he slapped her right across the face, causing blood to drizzle out of her mouth.

"Bitch... Kuvestar won't be defeated that easily. We've come too far to give up now. He won't fail me, I'm certain of it."

He stood up and chuckled.

"Rest as much as you can now, bitches. In a little while more you shall see that this world will be somewhat different from what you're familiar with. But you'll get used to it, I'm sure. So, I'll see you around."

He snorted and leapt off into the skies after a second glanced at a swooning but furious Elise.

"Bitch." He murmured, his eyes darkening. It seems that he now had some extra work to do.

Xx

Ryosuke: Michi, Elise will certainly kill you for that. You keep using that B word on her.

Michiru: What? This is only fanfiction, alright? I'd never call her that in real life! And since when have you started calling me Michi? It sounds so stupid.

Ryosuke: You call me Ryo sometimes, so I thought I should...

Michiru: No. Don't even think about it. Oh and by the way we have a new reviewer!

Ryosuke: Yeah! So what did he say?

Michiru: Hmmm... he says our story is getting darker and it's not funny anymore.

Ryosuke: I kinda feel the same way. We're writing some serious shit here. Maybe I should start telling more jokes in the story...

Michiru: Shut the lame jokes. So, Jack, thanks for reviewing our story. I haven't had new reviewers, so I really appreciate it. I started the story light, but now that it becomes darker, it's hard to add much humorous stuff, but I will try to add some in the future chapters (yes I'll make Ryo shut up about his lame jokes). I hope you enjoyed it up until now, and will continue enjoying more chapters to come.

Ryosuke: Maybe I should really tell one, just to lessen the mood here...

Michiru: I said NO!

Ryosuke: Michiru likes Wilhelmina. One day he asked her if she had a boyfriend, and she said no. But why was he still sad?

Michiru: Err... why?

Ryosuke: Because Wilhelmina is already married!

Michiru: Goddamit I said shut up!

Ryosuke: Oh yeah, dude said you made Wilhelmina and Shana very weak.

Michiru: He did? Must have overlooked it...

Ryosuke: Yeah right... I'll tell you the reason. 1, Michiru thinks that making the heroines weak will make him look more like the protector. 2, Michiru is a sadistic misogynist.

Michiru: You never shut up, don't you...


	30. Death Link

Chapter 30 – Death Link

"Damn... you're strong... I underestimated you..." Allen said at some point during his battle with Shana. It had lasted for almost half an hour, and both of them were showing signs of fatigue. However, Allen had been on the receiving end more times than Shana did.

"You are not bad yourself," Alastor commented, "It is a pity that you wound up manipulated by the enemy. It would be beneficial for us if you were to be on our side."

"Heh... Don't go rubbing salt on my wounds. I know that this choice isn't the most correct one, but I really ain't got many good choices at my disposition." Allen replied.

"If you had not made the mistake of falling in love with a human, you could have prevented this from happening." Cross added.

"You're supposed to be on my side, Cross." Allen said angrily.

Their swords crossed once again. Oblivious to the both of them, two Mystes were standing on a roof nearby, observing their battle.

"Allen's becoming slower. At this rate he'll..." Ryosuke commented.

"That's what I was hoping for." Kuvestar answered coolly. "No... That's what's gonna happen."

"What the hell, you hired him to lose a battle?" Ryosuke exclaimed.

"Sometimes you have to lose a battle in order to win the war. You'll see what I mean in a moment." Kuvestar said. "This battle is going to be over soon."

"This is your last chance." Shana warned. "Stop this menacing act at once. There is no reason for us to fight each other."

"There's no reason for you." Allen groaned, reading his weapon, "But there is for me."

He began to strike at Shana once again, but the latter was able to block and counter all of his attacks with ease. Shana kicked him in the chest and he landed a few feet away from her.

"Goddamit, just die already!" He yelled. He was beginning to feel the frustration. He had dragged the battle on for too long, and it was starting to look bad for him. At this rate he would be unable to defeat Shana and save his lover.

But come to think of it, didn't everything seem off? Why capture his girlfriend and then use him to kill another Flame Haze? The person who hired him, Kuvestar, could have hired any random Crimson Lord to do the bidding. A few of them together will certainly finish the job easily. He, Allen, was not a very powerful Flame Haze to begin with; in fact, it was only a month he had forged his contract with Cross. Although, other Flame Hazes who have witnessed him battle claim that he has the potential to be dominant. Yet this certainly could not be the reason he was hired. Did his employer have anything up his sleeve?

"Alastor, he doesn't seem like he wants to give up. Is it really okay to kill him?" Shana asked worryingly. She had killed countless Crimson Denizens in battle, but this was the first time she was asked to do the same on a Flame Haze.

"His persistence gives us no choice." Alastor said with a hint of sadness in his voice, "I am not happy about the prospect of killing him, but if it's the only way to stop us being killed, we have to do it."

Shana grunted. Truth be told, she had had ample chances to deal the finishing blow on her adversary, but not once had she given him the coup de grace. After all, she was kind by nature, and felt that Allen did not deserve to die, since he was really on her side, but merely controlled by the enemy.

"Hey, Cross, get ready to use _that_." Allen said to cross.

"No, Allen! This is not something to be taken lightly." Cross warned.

"I'm going to use it sometime in the future anyway, might as well do it now." Allen said, "I'm really blessed to have made a contract with someone powerful like you, Cross. Useful as always."

"Allen, if you do it..."

"It's the only way. I can't beat her. That's the only thing that will help me."

"Allen..."

"I said it before. I won't hesitate to sacrifice my own life for Lena." He looked at Cross and continued, "Hurry up and do it, Cross. Do it before she kills me."

"Of all the men I made a contract with, you are the one who could have been the strongest. And yet you are the one who will live the shortest." Cross said sadly.

"But, hey, it was meaningful, Cross." Allen replied, choking slightly as he spoke, "I met you, and I met Lena. That's more than enough to make my boring pre-Flame Haze life look colorful. Even if it's just a short time, it was memorable. In fact, before we forged this contract I was a dying person already. Being able to extend my life for a month, I'm more than grateful."

"How did it come to this, Allen?" Cross said sadly.

"Yeah, yeah. My fault. Sorry, Cross, but you'll have to find another man to become your next Flame Haze. So do it already, dammit."

"You have been nothing but a pain in the neck, Allen. I wonder why I had forged a contract with you..."

"You're still sad to see me go." Allen laughed. Suddenly there was a distraction.

"Shana!" Someone shouted from somewhere. Shana could not hide her surprise as she looked at the person running towards her from behind.

"Yuji?" She opened her eyes wide. A moment later she yelled, "Stand back!" as Yuji was getting too close to their battleground.

Yuji quickly stopped in his tracks. A while later Michiru came into view. Shana stared at him angrily.

"Sorry..." Michiru said, looking rather sheepish. Shana was about to scold him when Yuji spoke first.

"Why did you lie to me? It wasn't some Rinnes! You knew there was someone trying to attack you, so why did you even come here?" He yelled.

"I sensed hostility. It is my duty as a Flame Haze to protect this place." Shana answered swiftly.

"Then why didn't you take me with you?"

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I can handle myself!"

Shana wanted to keep Yuji out of harm's way, Michiru could tell, although she would not have admitted it if he said it out loud in front of her. She had personally ordered him to take Yuji out of town, which, he had done the exact opposite. Deep inside his heart he wondered if Wilhelmina would do the same for him, but he did not dare give it much thought.

"Yuji, get out of here, it could be dangerous." Shana said, turning back to face the enemy. It was only a half-truth. The battle was pretty much decided. Allen had given off a strong presence at first, but it was all just a fluke. That guy was too much of a greenhorn to be a match for her.

"I want to fight with you, Shana!" He shouted. Shana retorted.

"Yuji, let us go." Michiru spoke, "Shana's not in any danger right now. We should stand back for now in case we end up distracting her."

Yuji looked at him. He had a point, he thought. Anyways, he actually felt better knowing that Shana is safe and sound. He decided to listen to him.

"And you," Shana turned to Michiru, "I have things to settle with you afterwards, so don't run away."

"I hope you're ready for this. She's very scary when she's angry." Yuji said.

"So I'm the villain now?" Michiru sighed. "Whoa, look out!"

Allen suddenly lunged at Shana, shouting as he weaved his sword. Shana could see his attack coming from a mile away. He was careless, unusually careless. As he struck he had left his middle wide open. Shana had a few seconds to decide whether to attack him or not.

"Alastor..." She sighed. She was really confused and needed some advice.

"You cannot keep dragging anymore. Sooner or later this has to end." Alastor pointed out.

"Yes... You're right..." Shana said. Yuji is here too. There was no point in procrastinating anymore. She had to finish the battle quickly and keep Yuji safe. She gripped her sword tight. Her hand was sweating profusely that she nearly lost grip of it.

"Die, bitch!" Allen screamed. He lifted his sword and began to swing it.

Everything happened in a flash. Allen laughed, Yuji screamed "No!", and Shana stabbed Allen with all her might. The sword had pierced through Allen's body, very deep. His body nearly touched the hilt of the sword.

She looked up at Allen, surprised to find that he was still alive. She was expecting him to have gone limp. She had stabbed him so badly that blood was gushing out of his wound.

Even more surprised to find out that he was laughing.

"You fell for it." He laughed, coughing out some blood in the process.

Shana's eyes went wide as he placed his hand, which was glowing in white, on her face. She felt a weird sensation in her body. As if her spirit was floating away and another spirit was coming in.

"Death Link." He spoke. "This is the skill Cross is known for. I'm not sure how it works either, cause it's my first time using it. But supposedly, it links our life force together. Which means, if one of us dies..."

He paused for the dramatic sentiment. Shana was already beginning to feel a little bit of pain in her stomach.

"We both die... Together..." He said icily.

"No..." She whimpered, her eyes getting wider and wider as the pain became worse. She felt a wound tear in her stomach, the exact spot that she had stabbed Allen. Blood was slowly flowing out of it.

"This is it, then..." Allen said weakly. "I'm sorry, Cross... I know I can't ask you to take care of her, because you'll be forging a new contract with someone very soon. But please, send her my love, as my last wish, will you, Cross? Tell her I'm sorry, I couldn't be there to protect her when she needed me most..."

Cross said nothing.

"I'll take that as a yes, then. Thank you, Cross." He forced a smile.

At that moment, Shana quickly pulled her sword out of Allen's body. At the same time she felt excruciating pain in her stomach as the sensation of a sword being pulled out from her body kicked in.

"We're going to die here together, no matter what. Even if this wound doesn't kill me, I can just kill myself. You're already under the spell; you'll have to die too." Allen told her.

"Shana!" Yuji screamed at the top of his lungs. He ran towards Shana and placed a hand on her shoulder. Shana was kneeling down, wincing in pain as more and more blood gushed out of her body. She began to feel weak and dizzy. "Shana, hang in there!"

Michiru, too, rushed towards the couple. "We need to stop the bleeding!" He said. Yuji quickly took of Shana's black jacket and tightened it on the wound.

"This will do the trick, right?" Yuji asked.

"I guess. The blood isn't flowing that much anymore. We need to tend to her wounds quickly." Michiru answered.

"It's pointless." Allen said. Michiru turned towards him. "I'm going to stab myself this time, straight into the heart. You won't be able to save her anymore."

"No! Don't do this!"

"Shut up. You still don't get it, don't you? As long as Lena is safe I don't care about my life anymore!"

"You might not care about your life anymore... But she does, doesn't she?"

"Huh?"

"Your girlfriend. Lena, is it? How do you think she'd feel if you were to give up your life? I know that your life isn't worth a shit, but another more precious life is on the line too. How do you think she'd feel that you'd been betraying your allies and doing villain's work just for her?"

"Like I said, I have no choice! I'm willing to kill the world if that's what she wants."

"But she didn't tell you to do that, didn't she? Did she say it with her own mouth that she wanted you to do all this just to save her?

"You're not just going to kill yourself. You're taking your ally's life with you too. You think she'd want that?"

"But what am I supposed to do? You expect me to sit around and watch her die like that?"

"You need to know what she wants you to do. If she doesn't want you to be the villain, you must respect her decision."

"Put yourself in my shoes, dammit... What if you're the one who's asked to kill your own allies to save the one you love? You'd do the same thing, won't you?"

"I..." He thought about it for a moment. Somehow Allen was right about him. He could imagine himself doing the same thing to save Wilhelmina. He, too, is someone willing to sacrifice his own life in order to protect the ones he loved.

"Allen!" A female voice rang from somewhere and Allen's eyes went wide.

"L-Lena?" He stammered.

"Allen!" She cried again as she ran towards Allen. Allen opened his arms wide and held her tightly.

"Lena, why are you here? I thought that person had captured you?"

Kuvestar, however, was the one who answered. "I freed her. You held your end of the deal well, so I'm going to do the same."

Michiru, Shana and Yuji gaped at him. That man had appeared out of nowhere and stood beside Allen and Lena.

"Lena, I'm sorry... I couldn't protect you... And... I can't protect you anymore..." Allen croaked.

Lena placed a finger on his lips.

"Don't say anything to me, Allen." She told him, "I am very disappointed..."

"He... was going to torture you... I... I... can't let you get tortured by him... That's why I..."

"I would rather be tortured, Allen. Whatever you've done... hurts me more that all the torture would have."

"I'm sorry, Lena... I just can't live without you."

"And you're going to make me live without you too?"

"I..."

"Keep your mouth closed, Allen. We will die together."

"NO!"

"You did not respect my decision. There's no way I will respect yours."

"Well, if that's the case..." Kuvestar interrupted, a glint of evil in his eyes, "I'll send you both to heaven together right away. Oh wait... Allen's supposed to go to hell, after all that he's done."

He summoned a ridiculously long sword from thin air.

"NOOOOOO!" Yuji screamed as Kuvestar aimed for the couple's hearts, a look of maniac on his face. He was more afraid of their deaths than they themselves. He could tell that Allen was no longer planning to retaliate. He had his arms tightened around Lena, his eyes closed. He could see his lips moving, which looked suspiciously like "I'm sorry, Lena."

Yuji could not do anything. He could only hold Shana as tight as he could. And scream.

Michiru saw the look on Yuji's face. The pain. The despair. The helplessness.

He acted subconsciously.

Less than a second later, he was holding a sword, shining in golden light, parrying Kuvestar's attack. The next moment, Kuvestar and laughed and grabbed his face before he could even realize what was going on.

"This is it, then." Kuvestar said, his face filled with delight.

Michiru's eyes went wide.

"Let me show you Golden's true power."

This sentence sent chills into his spine.

"Fuzetsu." He said coldly. The regular reddish glow in the Fuzetsu was replaced by a golden one. Michiru grabbed his sword tighter. Kuvestar was going to kill everything.

"Look closely. This is how you kill." He said, still beaming widely in a sickening sort of way.

He made a movement of a horizontal slash at Allen and Lena's direction. A second later, both of them were dismembered. Kuvestar had sliced them into two, the top and bottom part of the body are perfectly symmetrical in length.

"SHANAAAAAAA!" Yuji screamed from behind. Michiru turned around. His eyes wide. His knees buckled.

Yuji was holding Shana's upper body and screaming with all his might. The image of Shana's upper body separated from the lower body, the blood and the organs strewn everywhere was burned into his mind. It would later haunt him forever.

"I really want to kill you now, but two reasons prevent me from doing so. One, a Mystes cannot be killed physically. They can only truly die when the Flame has extinguished. Which, in our case, will never happen... And two..."

"You bastard!" Yuji screamed, Blutsauger in his hand, a look of loathing in his eyes. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"

He charged at Kuvestar. Michiru could feel the power of the Reiji Maigo at work.

However it meant nothing in the face of the Golden.

Kuvestar shot him an irritated glance and with a quick swing of his sword, sliced him into two, the same way he did on Allen and Lena. Yuji fell to the floor, no blood spurted out. There was blood on his shirt, but it had belonged to Shana. He had lost the ability to move and was merely staring furiously at Kuvestar.

"See what I mean?" Kuvestar said to Michiru, who looked horrified. "We don't die the normal way."

Then he turned to Yuji.

"Say... didn't she do this to you when you first meet?" He mocked and laughed. "Surely you want to get her back for this. I did this to her for your sake!" He pointed at Shana's body and barked happily.

"You son of a-!" Yuji bellowed.

The sword ran right into his mouth.

"Shut up." Kuvestar said icily.

With the sword jammed onto his mouth, Yuji was no longer able to speak. Still, that did not stop him from staring loathingly at Kuvestar.

"So number two... You wanna know the reason?" Kuvestar said to Michiru, smiling slightly. The latter did not speak. He knew it was definitely nothing good. But he still wanted to hear it anyway.

"I want to torture kill the maid in front of your eyes before I kill you!" He spoke in a whispering tone sinisterly, a look of sadist's delight all over his face.

"See you around, then." A golden flame appeared and burned brightly between them. Michiru stared hard at Kuvestar at the other end of the flame. A few seconds later he was gone.

Michiru stood there for a few seconds, still recovering from the shock. Then his gaze darted to Yuji, who was still paralyzed on the ground. He quickly fixed his body the way one put two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle together.

"Sorry..." He spoke as he pulled Yuji up.

"Don't apologize; it's not your fault." Yuji said. Michiru could sense a kind of seriousness and maturity that he had never seen before from him.

"I was the one who..."

"It's his fault. Everything is his fault. I'm going to kill him."

A moment of silence, then...

"Go to Carmel-san. She needs you now." Yuji told him.

Michiru nodded. He was very worried about Wilhelmina. Kuvestar certainly could not be sending empty death threats.

"We'll have to part ways for now, then."

"Stop wasting time and go after her." Yuji said as he picked up Shana's body. "And make sure you really protect her. Don't be weak like I was..."

Michiru could sense bitterness in his voice, and it stung his heart a lot. He found it hard to accept Shana's death.

"I'll protect her. Definitely." He said. "And... I'm sorry, Yuji... I'll make it up to you."

Another out of body experience hit him. He leaped up towards the gloomy sky and flew his way subconsciously to the West. Yuji looked on as he held Shana tightly in his arms; he was hardly surprised.

"I will avenge you, Shana..." He whispered. "I'll make them pay."

-x-

Michiru had already landed in the football field in Atlanta before he went lucid again. He had flown all the way from Misaki City, Japan to Atlanta, USA at an inhuman speed without even realizing it.

Swiftly he spotted Wilhelmina lying on the ground in a pool of blood. His heart sank. He quickly ran towards her and held her on his arm. He breathed a sigh of relief as he felt a pulse in her. He had thought that Kuvestar had arrived here and did those things, but from the looks of it, it was not him.

"Wilhelmina, are you alright? What happened?" He said.

She stirred, her eyes barely open and she looked extremely weak. She might not have realized that the person holding her was Michiru, because she was making futile attempts to push him away.

"Wilhelmina, it's okay. It's me." He assured her.

She made a small gasp, and her expression quickly softened. She tried to smile at him, but it made her look as if her cavities were acting up. Nevertheless, he smiled back, though he was not sure whether she caught it or not. Then she fainted.

He picked her up in his arms and looked around. He saw a changing room somewhere far to his right. He hoped there would be medical supplies and a decent place to rest in there. And to his left he saw a few ladies in almost the same state as Wilhelmina.

He sighed at once. Now he had to take care of so many people at one go.


	31. I Will Find A Way

Chapter 31 – I Will Find A Way

It was night. The entire area that Michiru was currently staying at was dead silent. He had brought the injured girls to an abandoned house somewhere near the field they were lying on. Surprisingly there was still food, light and water in the house, along with some other basic needs in a home. Michiru wondered if this was not an abandoned house, but merely the owners of this house had gone on vacation. But still, he doubt that the people who own a lousy house like this had money for vacation.

He had some basic cooking skills, so he cooked something simple with the available ingredients for Rebecca, Elise and Margery when they were awoke and hungry. While he did the cooking, Margery and Rebecca told him about what happened to them. Michiru would talk about his story too, but because either he was a swift cook or Margery and Rebecca were slow in talking, he had finished before they even finished telling him.

Also, for some reason, Elise looked very angry and refused to take a bite. She left the house, probably to eat at a fast food outlet. Michiru had told her not to leave the place in case the enemy was still around, and thus they should not attract too much attention. But Elise just punched him in the face.

"Such barbaric act..." Michiru grunted as he sat down to eat with Margery and Rebecca, rubbing his face.

"You are quite an impressive cook for a young guy," Margery complimented, "The ingredients are by no means fresh but you still managed to cook up something tasty."

"Thanks." Michiru said and grinned at her, "I had doubted whether if it was even edible at first."

"Anyways it turned out all right and that's what really matters. And I'm still hungry, do you have some more?" Rebecca said. Michiru looked at her bowl.

"Did you just swallow everything in one bite or something?" He nearly shouted in surprise. It took less than a minute for her to gobble up everything? And Michiru had given her extra sharing because she was complaining about her hungry stomach.

"I was hungry..." Rebecca mumbled.

"You can have mine then." Michiru said, pushing his bowl towards her. "I'm not in the mood for eating anyways." He said sadly.

"I understand that you are worried about her, but you-"

"I don't think we Mystes have to eat, we're hollow inside anyway." Michiru said.

"You're not a regular Mystes, you are Golden." Rebecca said.

"I'm still hollow..."

"I find it hard to believe that what was merely a legend passed around by Flame Hazes appeared in front of me. I had no idea Golden truly existed. And you're just a kid." Margery said. He had told them everything that had transpired so far before he cooked the meal, except for the part where his powers got duplicated and Shana's death, which he could not even bear to think about.

"Golden is a Treasure Tool. I have nothing to do with it, it chose to enter my body." Michiru answered.

"I've never even heard of this legend before. So then, you're supposed to be really strong, then?" Rebecca said.

Strong? He was weak. He could not stop the enemy from using his powers. He could not protect Shana. Visions of Kuvestar touching him and Shana getting sliced into two flashed before him. He caused Shana's death, and he would never forgive himself for it. His expression soured. Yuji's wailing still rang in his ears.

"Oi... Are you alright, dude?" Rebecca asked him. Michiru instantly snapped out of this daydream.

"Yeah, sorry I just spaced ou- Oh my god!" he shouted suddenly.

Unbelievably, Rebecca had finished his share too, and at such a short time.

"You're really gluttonous you know that..." Michiru murmered.

"I said I was hungry!" Rebecca retorted angrily, "I don't eat all the time!"

"So if you're still hungry after eating that you're going to have to eat the furniture in this house. We need conserve a bit on the food." Michiru continued.

"Nah, I've had enough. If we need food why don't we just go out and get some, anyway?" Rebecca asked.

"We will, but not for now. You're still injured, so we can risk you getting attacked. So meanwhile before we fully regain our strength we just need to make do with what we have in this place. Which is more than enough actually."

"Margery is with us," Rebecca pointed out, "You think that we cannot protect ourselves?"

"If it's just some Rinnes it'd be a piece of cake, but in case a strong Crimson Lord comes, or Arken decides to attack us again, you'd be in trouble. Let's just stay safe for now, alright?"

"What about you? You're the Golden. You will be able to deal with them!" Rebecca said cheerfully, "After all, you are the one who found us and brought us here and treated our wounds. You are the hero."

"Wilhelmina will be very touched when she wakes up." Margery teased him.

Michiru went red in the face immediately.

"Mm-hmm. I can tell that you're a really caring person, the way you stop us from going out. I'm sure you take _really_ good care of her when you're alone." Rebecca piped in playfully.

"What are you talking about?" Michiru said, trying to sound irritated but failed miserably.

"She smiled at you when you held her in your arms. I've never seen her smile like that before. You're really something." Margery said.

"And the way you're so worried about her, taking care of her while she's asleep, and not wanting to leave her side tells everything, so don't deny." Rebecca added.

"No, I..."

"I sense love in the air! Wilhelmina finally found someone who loves her! I'm so jealous!" Rebecca laughed.

"Why would you be jealous? Aren't you lesbian?" Michiru looked at her with a surprised look. Rebecca's face darkened instantly and she punched him hard in the shins.

"Ow, that really hurt, dammit!" Michiru yelped. Rebecca certainly was not lady-like. She folded her arms and stared at him angrily.

"I've only been away for months and everything escalated so quickly already." Margery said.

"I say... why are the both of you jumping into strange conclusions?" Michiru grumbled. "We've just met a few hours ago but you guys are joshing me so badly like I'm your little brother or something..."

"I can tell. It's obvious that you like her." Rebecca said. "Oh, and the reason we tease you is because we're happy. You know, Wilhelmina can finally be happy."

"I didn't even say-"

"Golden or not, you certainly have the guts to love a Flame Haze." Margery teased. Suddenly Michiru had an idea.

"oh yeah, there was this guy in school named Keisaku Satou and he told me that he likes a Flame Haze. I wonder who that could be..." Michiru pretended to talk to himself. That certainly irritated Margery and she shut up.

Michiru sniggered. They should know what was coming for them, teasing him like that.

"I'm going to punish him when I get back." Margery groaned.

"You can borrow my belt if you want. I know what form of punishment you're planning for-"

And for the third time, he got punched by a woman. Michiru cursed his luck, ending up in a situation of being surrounded by girls and talking about romance. In situations like these the guys always get the worst end of the deal. Including Elise, there are four girls and one guy in this scenario. This tale suddenly turned into harem.

"Okay we should stop this. Instead of talking nonsense, we should exchange what information that we have, now." Michiru said, getting up from the floor, "Let's start with Arken. You said that he betrayed everyone and attacked you. Do you guys know him? Is he famous among the other Flame Hazes?"

"He claimed that he was one of the first humans to have existed, but I've never seen nor heard of him before. It's unsettling..." Margery said. "The first time I saw him was the time where he fetched me in his chopper."

"Same here. That face doesn't ring a bell." Rebecca said.

"He existed that long ago? And he was able to stay anonymous until now?" Michiru asked.

"We can only assume that he changed his appearance and also his contractor multiple times throughout his life as a Flame Haze." Margery said.

"He didn't even help us out during the Great War..." Rebecca said crossly.

"Oh yeah... There's something that was bothering me, but I had forgotten afterwards. At the time I first met him. It was in school; Wilhelmina and Elise were fighting Kojiro... That was when I heard his voice. I... found his voice very familiar..."

"He said that he had seen Golden before. Could that be Golden's memories coming to you? After all, he said that Golden had its own consciousness." Margery said.

"He talked about Golden?" Michiru asked, looking surprised.

"He told us a lot about it, as if he knew it too well." Rebecca said. Then she gave him a recount of what Arken had told the Flame Hazes.

"At that time where I fought Zeus, at the time where I fought Sabrac, and when I deflected Kuvestar's attack... I couldn't really control my body. I still kept my consciousness, but it was only very minimal. I couldn't even think."

"So the feeling is like a dream?" Margery asked.

"Yeah, either that or it's an out of body experience." Michiru said.

"And what's this about... Kuv- whose attack?" Rebecca gave him a puzzled look.

So Michiru told them the story about the four Mystes who wanted to steal his powers. When he reached the part where Shana fought another Flame Haze, Allen, he kept choking on his saliva.

"Oi, what's wrong? Do you need some water?" Rebecca said.

"No, I'm fine..." Michiru said, gritting his teeth.

"You certainly don't look like it..." Rebecca added.

"Margery-san... Since you live in Misaki too... you are... acquainted with Shana, right? A friend of hers?" Michiru asked.

"Yes I am." Margery said firmly, "There is something wrong with your voice. Did something happen to her?"

Michiru clenched his fists. "Shana is... dead..."

Margery and Rebecca's eyes widened.

"The Nietono is dead?" Rebecca said aloud.

Michiru nodded dejectedly. "I am to blame for that..." If he had not brought Yuji there, if he had stood out of the way, it would not have turned out like that. There was nobody to put the blame on but himself.

Still choking on his saliva, he told them everything about the battle. The image of Shana's strewn organs came to his mind once again. He had witness the death of a close acquaintance; he could not change the fact. True, he admitted that he was not very fond of Shana because she was somewhat hostile towards him, but seeing her killed in front of him affected him a lot more than he would have imagined.

"So this Kuvestar took your powers." Rebecca said, "And we're screwed. Is that right?"

"Still, nothing major has happened up till now." Margery said, taking out her bookmark "They would certainly inform me if a Mystes is going on a rampage."

"Don't tell me... They couldn't even manage to do that-" Michiru suddenly said.

"Oi! Watch your mouth! You think that we Flame Hazes will go down so easily?" Rebecca scolded him.

"But Arken was able to destroy an outpost all by himself, didn't he?" Michiru retorted.

"What?" Margery spoke.

"The Outlaw's outpost. It was in ruins when I arrived. You said that Arken was here, so he definitely was the one who had done it."

"That son of a-!" Rebecca cursed, but Michiru smacked her in the forehead.

"It's not nice for a girl to swear." He said, smiling at her. He swore that Rebecca blushed slightly, but she quickly brushed it off.

"From my point of view, this Kuvestar dude hasn't been attacking anyone or causing any trouble even after acquiring Golden's powers. Maybe he's still not used to it so he didn't dare do anything rash. Heh, he's still afraid of Flame Hazes after all." Rebecca continued.

_Either that, or he's just toying with us, making us live a little longer and then torture us_. He thought to himself. It seemed legit, since he knew what Kuvestar was capable of. The fact that Wilhelmina is still safe and sound here was probably due to him showing some mercy, or he may be plotting something else for her, or something else had distracted him. Michiru could now see Kuvestar's malicious eyes. _"I want to torture kill the maid in front of your eyes before I kill you!"_ The creepy voice rang in his ears, striking him with fear. Contrary to what Rebecca said, he was certain that Kuvestar did not fear anyone.

But of course he did not voice out his opinion. There was no need to act like a paranoid. After all, he was sure there was nothing Margery and Rebecca could do even if he told them. When the time arrived where Kuvestar attacked them, he would take responsibility and protect everyone. Easily said than done though.

"Oh, what's that?" He pointed at the huge bookmark that Margery was holding.

"This is a tool of communication for me and the other Flame Hazes. Wilhelmina has one too. Think of it as a mobile phone." Margery said. "Because you can hear the voices of the person you're speaking to."

Michiru suddenly had an idea. "Does Yuji have one too? Can we call him with this?"

"He should have it with him. But don't you two have phones too?" Margery said.

"We're overseas now. Phone bills are gonna go over the roof..." Michiru muttered.

Margery poured some Power Of Existence into the bookmark and it began to glow. She handed it to him, but he refused to take it.

"I'm sorry, but could you please answer it for me? Just ask where he is, and how he handled Shana's body." Michiru said bitterly, "I don't have the guts to speak to him right now, I'm sorry."

"You should speak to him directly if you're worried about him." Margery said directly.

"I know. But I just can't do it. I'm sorry. Please help me this once." Michiru said.

Margery was probably about to respond to that, but Yuji suddenly picked up the 'phone'.

"Margery-san?" The trio could hear a voice coming from the bookmark. Was it because of the quality? Michiru felt that the voice was strangely unfamiliar.

"Midget, is that you?" Margery replied.

"This is Yuji Sakai." The voice said.

"How's Keisaku doing recently? I tried calling him just now but he won't pick up. He's probably sleeping. It's kinda late already."

"Margery-san." Yuji said with a voice of stiffness that neither Margery nor Michiru had heard before. They both looked very surprised.

"You know about what happened to Shana, right? Is that why you're calling? You wouldn't call me to reach Satou. Tanaka would be the one you should call. And besides, it's morning here."

Margery smacked her head. She had forgotten that they were in another continent. Casual talk was a poor way to start off the conversation. She decided to cut to the chase.

"Where are you now?" Margery asked.

"I'm at home, of course. School reopens today, and I'm just getting ready for school. And you want to know where Shana is sleeping right now. I buried her in the backyard."

Margery thought that Yuji sounded very cold. He had brought up about Shana's death as if it never affected him at all, and she had not even begun to ask him that. Of course, it was very obvious that the reason Margery called him was because of Shana. Yuji was not dumb enough not to realize that.

"This is probably the part where you give your condolences and say you're surprised that even Shana will meet her match." Yuji continued on Margery's pause, "But you can skip it. It doesn't matter to me anymore."

Margery gasped. She wondered whether if it was really Yuji on the end of the line, since she could not see his face. She had no idea that Yuji was capable of being so cold.

"I'll kill him, and get my revenge, do you understand?"

"Don't be stupid, there's no way you can defeat Kuvestar!"

"Then I will find a way. I will be the one to kill him, no matter what. I'm heading for school now. Goodbye, Margery-san."

And then he hung up.

"He's changed..." Michiru murmured darkly. Of course he would. If he had lost Wilhelmina like that, he would probably become the person that Yuji is now too. He felt worried; Yuji seemed like he had a plan, and a dangerous one at that. But still, Yuji had nothing to lose anymore, so as long as he could get revenge, nothing mattered to him.

"Sounds to me that something big is going to happen real soon." Rebecca said.

Rebecca had a point. Kuvestar just had Golden's powers. It would be a matter of time before he started attacking the other Flame Hazes and causing havoc in this world.

"So what about you?" Margery asked Michiru. "Where do you go from here?"

Michiru gave it some thought. He was probably not going to return to Misaki anymore. There was no reason to, and there was nothing left for him there except for painful memories. His short school life in Misaki was over before it even started. Before he even realized it, he was now a trooper in the ranks of the Flame Hazes. And he had a feeling that, pretty soon, a huge war between Flame Hazes and Nottes Kuvestar would begin very soon.

The next time he met Yuji, it would be in the battlefield. He made himself a mental note to let Yuji strike the final blow. He gave them his reply. His answer was simple.

"I'll fight with you guys. Let's end this once and for all."

He was barely aware of himself when he spoke that.


	32. My True Self

Chapter 32 – My True Self

"Then I will find a way. I will be the one to kill him, no matter what. I'm heading for school now. Goodbye, Margery-san." Yuji Sakai had said.

He was standing in front of Shana's grave, weeping when Margery called. He had quickly wiped off his tears before picking up the phone and answering in a cold voice. He hoped that Margery did not notice it.

He would have stayed with Shana for the entire day, but school, always the cruel thing, forced him to say goodbye. He was already getting late for school.

After putting on his shoes, he made his way to school. Usually, he would see at least one of his schoolmates on the way to school too, but since he was later than he had expected, there was no one. Dogs and cats which usually scarper around in the streets could not be seen either. He wondered if he was in a Fuzetsu or second dimension.

He dismissed the theory when he suddenly heard some shouting coming from a back alley. A very rude man was yelling something in a coarse voice, and a girl was trying to shout back at him. He could not make out what they were yelling. He would have dismissed it as a couple's quarrel, but the girl's voice was somehow very familiar and he felt that he wanted to know whose voice was that. And for that reason alone, he headed towards the direction of the sound, regardless of the time and situation.

Was it because of losing Shana? Yuji had completely lost the ability to feel any fear. If he were still his old self, he would be running at top speed at this very moment. Still, his old self had Shana. She would scold him if he were late, and the reason he was never late for school was because he was more afraid of Shana's angry yelling than the teachers'.

But Shana would never yell at him anymore, no matter how much he wanted to hear them...

When Yuji reached his destination, a scene of a classic damsel in distress was presented in front of him. Four guys were ganging up on a girl. Although in most people's opinion the time of the day is too early for something like this to happen.

The girl was shouting something. Now Yuji knew why he felt that the voice was familiar. It was a rather special kind of squeaky voice that you don't hear very often. The girl was Ai Takasu. Yuji had seen her and even talked to her before the summer holidays when she entered class and looked for Michiru.

"But you must know Brother (Nii-san)! You are all friends with him, aren't you? Brother showed me your pictures before! You're Tatsuya-kun, you're Kazama-kun, you're..." The girl was still trying to speak when the guys were certainly very furious and not paying attention to her.

"I will say this one more time." The tallest among the group said to her in a menacing tone, "We do not know any Takasu. You better fuck off now, or we will fuck you."

"You must remember! Brother said you were the best basketball player in sch-"

"That really does it..." Kazama said, "I'm fucking pissed now..."

He smacked her hard across the face. Ai made a high pitched shriek and fell to the ground.

"Wait! Listen to me! I'm not lying! Brother said he-"

He slapped her again. Meanwhile Yuji was searching around frantically for a weapon while not attracting attention from the guys.

"What's wrong with this bitch, anyway?" Tatsuya said.

"Maybe she needs a spanking or something. That stupid squeaky sound is irritating." Kazama said.

"I wonder what it will sound like if she screams!" The third guy said.

Ai gulped and backed away slightly. The three guys were now approaching her slowly, malicious intention in their eyes.

"What are you trying to-?"

"SHUT UP!"

Kazama grabbed her by the shirt. Ai whimpered.

"If you want to get beaten up so much, you could have asked politely." He spat in her face. "Or is it... You want to be raped?"

"Let go of me!" Ai shouted.

Kazama was about to punch her in the face when Yuji arrived in time and hit him in the back of the head with a baseball bat. Kazama accidentally let go of Ai, who quickly escaped to the side.

"Oh shit, I forgot. At times like this, a hero always comes to the rescue." Kazama said angrily, turning around to face Yuji. If looks could kill, Yuji could have been dead on the spot. "Well, let's see how much of a hero you are."

Without him realizing it, the other two guys had grabbed Yuji by the arms. He struggled to break free of their grips, but his strength was no match for them. Kazama punched him in the face. Yuji let out a groan.

"Hey, kid. Don't play hero if you can't." He said. Then he punched him in the stomach.

"I won't forgive you!" Ai shouted from behind. Kazama turned around and received a kick in the face.

"What?" He was taken by surprise. The other two guys who were holding Yuji had loosened their grip as well, and Yuji quickly broke free.

"First you feign that you do not know my brother. Then you hit me. And now you're hurting an innocent passer-by. I will never tolerate that coming from you!" Ai bellowed, "Brother... Brother became a sadistic misogynist because of people like you who like to bully others! He respects the girls in his school and is gentle to them, but they end up bullying him! That's why he... that's why he... started hating women. But, Brother was still gentle to me! Brother is a nice person! Nobody understood him... Nobody did except me..."

A tear rolled down Ai's cheek. She clenched her fists tight. "People like you don't deserve to exist!" She shrieked.

The next thing Yuji knew, Ai was already sending a few kicks to the guys. Yuji was taken aback. He had never expected her to possess hidden fighting skills; she had looked the very weak type. The saying was right, never judge a book by its cover.

Ai gave Kazama a roundhouse kick to the face, but lost balance as she landed. She winced in pain as she felt her ankle twist slightly. Tatsuya seized the opportunity and kneed her in the stomach. Immediately, Ai doubled over and knelt on the floor, shaking in pain and fury.

Kazama approached her slowly. Ai tried to get up, but all the air was knocked out of her, and she could not find the strength. She tried to play it tough by staring angrily at her nemesis, but she knew it was futile.

"Tch." Kazama sighed. Then he kicked her in the face. "That was for what you've given me. The real fun begins now though..."

"Stay away! Damn it, stay away!" Ai whimpered.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Tatsuya mocked.

The three guys were crowding on Ai, laughing at her pitiful form. They had completely forgotten about Yuji, and he seized the opportunity to attack one of the guys with the baseball bat.

"No! Get out of here! Why are you still-" Ai began to shout, but Kazama kicked her face again.

Yuji swung the bat as hard as he could at Kazama, but the latter was quick enough to dodge. He tried to snatch the bat away from Yuji, but he squeezed it as tightly as he could. The twisting and turning caused both of them to lose control and the bat landed in front of Ai instead.

"Use it!" Yuji shouted.

Ai nodded, grabbed the bat and hit Kazama at the back of his head. He fainted immediately as Ai had hit too hard on the weak spot. The other two guys, shocked that their leader was down, lost concentration momentarily. In a swift motion, Ai swung the bat into their abdomen, causing them to howl in pain.

Ai, who allowed her rage get ahead of her, was about to hit them some more, but Yuji grabbed her by the wrist. He shook his head as Ai turned around to face him. Ai had hit Kazama so hard that a wound had opened from the back of his head and fresh blood was pouring out of it. Yuji was worried that if Ai were to continue her menacing attack she would end up taking their lives. He did not want her to become a murderer by accident.

Ai smashed the bat into the wall with unparalleled force and it broke into pieces. She threw an ugly glance at the other two guys on the ground, whose eyes were bulging wide. Without being asked, they quickly grabbed their leader and fled from her. Ai folded her arms and watched angrily as the guys left. But once they were out of sight she instantly stopped feigning toughness and squatted on the ground, holding her stomach and knee, whimpering in pain.

"Are you okay?" Yuji asked, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Y-yeah... I can... still... stand..." Ai moaned.

"Don't push yourself. I'll take you to a clinic." Yuji told her.

"It's okay, I'm fine."

But in the end she still gave up. She placed her arm around Yuji's shoulder as they walked together to the nearby clinic. From the looks of it, both of them were going to take the day off from school on this very day.

As they walked, Yuji reminisced about the battle a while ago. Ai had graceful skills with her legs, something you would not expect out of a girl so short. And the way she maneuvered around, swinging the bat, caught Yuji's eye. For a certain reason he felt that he was seeing Shana in battle all over again.

There were a few things that Yuji really wanted to ask her, but seeing that Ai was in worse pain than ever, he decided to leave the questions for later. With difficulty both of them made their way to the clinic. Fortunately there were no other patients at the time thus the doctor was able to bandage Ai's sprained ankle and gave her some ointment for her bruised stomach.

"I think you should take the day off from school. Is your house nearby? I'll send you home." Yuji said.

"Thank you..." Ai said.

So, once again, by lending Ai his shoulder, Yuji brought her back to her house and they sat in the living room. Ai looked around.

"Mom's not at home?" She spoke to herself. "She was still in the kitchen before I left."

"Ai Takasu-san?" He began.

"Call me Ai." Ai said, "Everyone calls me that."

"Ai-chan, you are really good at fighting. You really surprised me." Yuji told her.

"Right? I'm sure those idiots didn't know what hit them!" Ai said proudly, "When I was young I learned tae-kwon-do and kendo and all the self-defense stuff with Brother."

At that moment, Yuji knew that this girl acted weak all the time in order to attract Michiru's attention. After all, a guy's heart can be easily captured by playing damsel in distress. Yuji himself would admit that if Shana were show her weakness in front of him, he would man up instantly and comfort her. Without a doubt, Ai Takasu is a lot more dangerous than she seems. In fact, she had actually changed her voice without him realizing it until now. Ai stopped faking the squeaky voice. Her voice had a hint of toughness to it, but it was still feminine of course.

"But I shouldn't have attempted that last kick... I was still learning that move." Ai said, smiling sheepishly, "Now look what happened to me. I'm sorry for troubling you, err..."

"I'm Yuji Sakai. And don't worry about it. I don't feel like going to school today anyway."

"But still..."

Ai hung her head down.

"Didn't you always come to school with Akenabe-senpai and another girl? Why are they not with you today?" She asked suddenly.

Yuji gritted his teeth.

"They transferred..." He lied, "To another state. I'm not seeing them anymore..."

"What?" Ai stood up immediately, and let out a yelp after feeling pain in her ankle. She slumped back onto the sofa and massaged it.

"Akenabe-senpai is... gone already? He never told me anything about transferring when I met him during the holidays!" Ai cried out emotionally.

Yuji wondered what was wrong with his friend. He had told him that he did not fancy her, but he still hung out with her during the break?

"It was a last minute decision. I don't even know where he's transferring too. He just left last night, so he didn't have time to inform you. I'm sure he'll call you soon." In order to shut Ai up, Yuji decided to lie again.

Ai whimpered and buried her face into her hands.

"I... really liked him... Akenabe-senpai." She said in a crying voice. Yuji wondered if she was acting again. It looked quite real and convincing. "But... He doesn't like me, does he?"

Yuji looked at her silently, unsure of what to say.

"Sakai-senpai, he must have talked to you, right?" Ai looked at Yuji, a few tears in her eyes. "Did he ever tell you about me?"

Yuji shook his head.

"I should have thought... He wouldn't like me." Ai said, forcing a smile while shedding more tears, "I already knew there are many girls in school who fancy him..."

"But you were the only one who gave him anything." Yuji said truthfully. "I don't think he received anything else from other girls."

"It didn't go as I expected. Many girls like him, but none of them dared to make the first move, because whoever does that will be hated among their peers. That's why I thought I'd be the one; I thought he would be desperate for a girlfriend too because no one dared to like him. But Akenabe-senpai doesn't like me, and now all my friends hate me! I failed..."

She wiped the tears off her eyes and continued, "I'm actually not very girly like. I only had an elder brother, and I really look up to him. That's why I possess some of his traits. We used to play ball games together, we practiced fighting together, and I did many other things with him that a regular girl wouldn't do."

"It's not your fault." Yuji tried to comfort her, "One of my classmates in middle school had seven sisters, and because of that he behaved very sissy-like."

"I was still myself in middle school, and I had a lot more guy friends than girls. Come to think of it, technically all my friends were guys; the girls that I'm on good terms with are tomboys too. And one day Brother was joking about me not being able to get married if I continued to be boyish, but then Mom heard him and made everything seem serious. At first I didn't really care, but then I realized something. Most of the girls in my school have been in a relationship. I may have more guy friends than them, but they treat me like a brother than a real girl. None of the guys ever thought of wanting me as a girlfriend. After I realized it, I couldn't believe it myself either, but I began to start having girl feelings."

"It should be natural. You are a girl after all." Yuji did not really know what he was saying. The words left his mouth before he realized it. He hoped Ai wasn't offended.

"Probably... So, this year when I made the transition to high school, I told myself: I'll start being like a real girl. I want to get a cute boyfriend, just like any normal girl. Then I can show to the girls in middle school who have shunned me, that I have a boyfriend cuter than theirs. So I sought help from Mom and her friends' daughters and get them to teach me more about girl's stuff. They told me guys like soft girls, because they want to look manly."

So the reason she likes Michiru comes from hatred of her old schoolmates? Yuji thought.

"Sakai-senpai, am I being very fake? You saw the true Ai Takasu, the real me that I thought I had concealed perfectly. Did he see through me? Did he see through that I acted like a girl in school to attract his attention? Is that why he didn't like me?"

"You act weak on the outside, but you have a man's courage. That's why you were brave enough to confess to him. A regular weak girl would not have dared to do that. That's how he must have seen through you."

Ai laughed stupidly. "I guess I still showed my true colors in the end... Although I don't think I confessed to him properly, I just made bento for him. And yeah, Mom helped me with most of the cooking actually. If I were to do it all on my own, not only would it not be edible, I might even blow up the entire kitchen. Oh, I started to learn how to cook this year. I never had interest in cooking."

Ai's statement reminded him of Wilhelmina. He had one day return home to find the kitchen in ruins. Chigusa kept claiming that she was the one who messed up, but he knew that it was Wilhelmina all along.

"Answer me honestly though, does Akenabe-senpai have a girlfriend elsewhere or does he have a crush on someone?" Ai asked suddenly.

Yuji looked into her eyes. He could feel the determination to accept the truth from her. He could not lie. After hesitating for a while, he nodded.

"He already likes someone else."

Ai's eyes went wide. But then they softened instantly.

"I... should have expected... A guy like him can't be single. But even though, I was happy that I met him. Sometimes I think about the reason that I like him. Do I like him because I want to show off that I have a cute boyfriend? Do I like I like him because the other girls like him to, and I want to blend in with the girls? Or do I really like him as a guy? I didn't even know it myself."

"If you like him because of other reasons, you wouldn't have confessed to him. You confessed to him because you like him from the bottom of your heart. That's what I think."

Ai smiled instantly at him.

"You are such a gentleman with your words. Maybe I should have fallen for you instead."

Yuji blushed slightly.

"Did you know? He came to my house before... although he left quickly afterwards. And he did invite me to the Horror House event... although it was with you guys. He's a nice person, would you agree?"

He wouldn't deny. Michiru was kind, like Yuji himself in some ways.

"I won't give up." Ai suddenly stood up and said. "So what if he likes someone else? I truly like him, that's the only thing that matters. That's why... I won't lose. Thank you, Sakai-kun."

Yuji thought something was strange. It took him two seconds to realize it. Ai just called him Sakai-kun. Wait, no that's not it. Oh yeah...

"Ai-chan, your ankle..."

"Huh? What ank- Owwwww!"

Ai sat back on the sofa again, wincing. Then she laughed happily. "I forgot about the pain, ha ha."

For a moment, neither of them said anything. Then Ai began again.

"Sakai-kun, can I trust you with something?"

"What is it?"

"It may sound absurd, but it is the truth. Promise me you won't laugh at me."

"Okay."

"And you have to keep it a secret, promise me that too."

Yuji pondered for a while. Is Ai going to tell him about intimate girl stuff? He had no idea how to deal with it. But still...

"I promise."

Ai looked extremely happy and relieved.

"Thank you." She smiled at him. Then her expression hardened when she began to talk about her brother.

"Nobody remembered that Brother existed. Not even Mom. It's almost like Brother's very existence has been wiped out from this world."

Yuji stifled a gasp. What Ai was telling him now had relation to what Shana told him when they first met. All Torches who lose their power of existence will cease to exist, and memories of them will be wiped out as if they had never existed in the first place.

So then, how would Ai have felt the existence shift? Yuji and Michiru would still remember Kojiro Takasu, because they were Mystes, and had already come in touch with the Crimson Realm. If that's the case... Ai was a Torch too?

Yuji remembered the first time he looked at a Torch. He had looked at Yukari Hirai and found a dimly lit flame inside her body. He recalled the technique to sense Torches and looked at Ai.

"The tree outside... I and my brother used to play around here when we were kids. I remember it very well. But then there was one time where I had suddenly believed it myself, that I had never had a brother, and I never played under the tree before! It was really scary, but... that can't be true, isn't it? I remember it clearly that we used to play together! So why... why...?"

He saw it. The flame. The proof that Ai Takasu's existence is going to be wiped out from this world. The proof that Ai Takasu will soon turn into oblivion, just like her brother. And Mrs. Takasu will continue living her life thinking that she had no children, oblivious to the fact that she had given birth to a son and a daughter who loved each other...

Although contrary to Yukari Hirai's, Ai's flame was still very bright.

"The guys that I fought just now... Those are Brother's close friends. I was heartbroken to hear that they don't remember him... Just like Mom didn't... just like my friends who glanced at him before didn't... just like everyone else didn't..."

"I'm sorry..."

"No, there's no need for you to be sorry." Ai said, shaking her head, wiping off her tears, "I'm surprised that you believe my story, Sakai-kun. Mom thought I was joshing her when I said I had a brother. She thought I made it up because I wanted a younger brother. Then I tried telling it to one of my friends, but she just laughed it off... I was confused and scared, and I really need someone to talk to. Thank you for listening, Sakai-kun... I don't feel so scared anymore."

"The reason I believe in you, is because you and I are in the same boat now." Yuji said.

"Eh?"

"There is a flame inside your body. Try to feel it."

"What are you talking ab- AAAAHH!"

She began to tremble in fear when she saw it.

"Wh-wh-wh-what is this!? What's happening to me!?"

"Calm down and listen to me." Yuji said, "This thing is not dangerous to you. In fact, it's because of this that you are able to have this conversation with me right now."

He began to tell Ai everything he knew about Torches. And the reason Ai had realized that Kojiro's existence was no longer in this world. She had become a Torch herself, and thus she was able to detect the shift in this world. But still, she will forget it one day: the day she herself joined her brother in oblivion...

Ai began to wail uncontrollably. Yuji knew for sure this time she wasn't acting the damsel in distress; she was crying genuinely. He lent her his shoulder as she sobbed and trembled. As he held Ai in his arms, he wondered how Shana would react if she had barged in and found both of them clinging to each other. He wondered how he would come up with some pathetic excuse to explain himself. He wondered how Shana would punish him when they got back home together. In fact, he really wished that Shana would come into the house right now and slap him in the face.

But it would never happen... Fate had been cruel to him. Right after losing Shana to the Death Gods, he was placed in the middle of a scenario that reminded him so much about her. The first time they met, Shana had shown him that he was a Torch, and she explained about the Crimson Realm to him. Now, he was doing the same to Ai Takasu.

"Is there really... nothing I can do?" Ai spoke when her tears were beginning to subside.

Yuji stayed silent for a moment.

"There is a way." He said firmly.

"Then I will do it. I will do anything to protect Brother's memories in this world." Ai answered assertively.

Yuji might not have seen it, but Ai's eyes were filled with determination. She was the only person in this world to remember that Kojiro Takasu had existed. If she were to become oblivion, then the only living memory of Kojiro Takasu would be gone as well. She could not let that happen. Even if the whole world had forgotten about Kojiro Takasu, as long as Ai Takasu possesses memories of him, then the proof that Kojiro Takasu had existed in this world exists.

In other words, if Ai Takasu exists in this world, Kojiro Takasu exists in the same world.

When a person dies, a grave is dug as proof that the person had existed. But how do you proof the existence of a person who no longer exists had existed in this world before? Ai Takasu knew the answer. She was Kojiro Takasu's grave. Her brother may no longer be around, but Ai Takasu would still protect the only memories she possessed about him. And the only way to do so is by existing herself. There was no way she would allow herself to turn into oblivion. If the grave is destroyed and the body is taken away, then nobody will know that the person had been buried there before. She would not let the world be this cruel to her brother.

She stopped her sobbing, released her head from Yuji's shoulder, and looked straight into his eyes.

"Thank you for telling me this. Now I have found a meaning to my existence. I will not run away. I will protect my brother until the very end." She said to him. "I will tell Akenabe-senpai about Brother's existence! And we have our children I will tell them that their uncle had existed! Brother will live on forever in this world!"

Yuji gaped at her. He knew she was definitely not joking. There was fire in her eyes. He could see it clearly.

"Shana..." he whispered to himself.


	33. Pointless Quarrels

Chapter 33 – Pointless Quarrels

"I see... It seems that Golden's powers aren't just limited to battles." Kuvestar said. He was testing out Golden's abilities in the courtyard. "It even has the ability to create something out of nothing."

He pointed his sword at seemingly no one in particular. With a flick of his sword, a ball of light was shot out from the tip of the sword. The golden light began to form in thin air, and a few moments later something materialized as the light began to fade.

"See? I keep my promises. You are now granted eternal life, by the power of the Golden, Zeus." He said to the figure.

The light completely subsided and there stood Zeus, staring coldly at Kuvestar.

"You are always very good in word games. Technically you are not wrong in saying that you have granted me the power to live without being restricted to power of existence... But I am not the same Zeus that you once recruited. I am formed by you based on your memories of him. The real Zeus was dead long ago." Zeus said.

"However, there is no denying that... you are Zeus, and I have fulfilled my promise in granting you your wish." Kuvestar said. "You had always suspected my words, but now I have proven to you, I am a man of honor."

"Go fuck yourself..." Zeus answered coldly, lightning bolts began to form in his hands, "You sly fox..."

"Is this what you do to repay me for my kindness?" Kuvestar said coldly too, giving him his own cold stare, which was much colder. Zeus fired the bolt at him, but before the attack could connect it had disappeared into a much bigger bolt of golden light. Zeus's eyes went wide. Before he could even react, Kuvestar had appeared beside him and sliced his head off.

Zeus fell to the ground, head and shoulders separated, his eyes still wide from shock. He was dead before he even realized what was going on. Kuvestar looked at him with his eyes narrowed. He pointed his sword at the dead body. Instantly, Zeus's body began to glow in golden light, brighter and brighter, and by the time it disappeared, Zeus was standing again, as if everything had happened was a mere illusion.

"I can revive you as many times as I want." Kuvestar said, "And I can change your personality for my liking."

Zeus was standing still looking at Kuvestar. He had no means of moving or even thinking unless Kuvestar instructed him to do so.

"Right now, I will make you do as I say. But what should be fitting for you?" He paused for a while and mumbled to himself, "Oh yes..."

He summoned a girl, with long blond hair and yellow eyes. Zeus was standing beside her, looking amazed.

"This... this is... myself! The female version of myself! Oh my freaking gosh I look so hot and pretty!" He yelled uncharacteristically; Kuvestar had shifted his personality to one he desired. In fact, the words that Zeus was saying and his movements are completely controlled by Kuvestar's mind. He was nothing but a puppet created by its master.

"Rule 63: For every fictional character, there exists an opposite-gender counterpart." The female Zeus said, her voice so cute it made her male counterpart salivate.

"I can't control myself..." Zeus half said, half laughed. "I... desire your body so much I could die!"

He pushed her down and ripped her clothes off.

"Stop it! Stop it! Let go! It hurts!" Female Zeus cried out, but a moment later Male Zeus's hysterically laughter covered her screams.

"Your body! No, _MY _body is so wonderful! I'll have it all!"

"Now _you_ go fuck yourself." Kuvestar said coldly as he left the place.

x-x (Michiru: Somehow this scene is a lot more disturbing than I thought. I intended it to be humorous.)

It was night time once again. Michiru was standing beside Wilhelmina, looking at the moon outside the window. The moon was exceptionally round and bright today; it gave him a sense of nostalgia.

"How much longer are you planning to lie here?" Michiru spoke. He was indeed talking to Wilhelmina, although he wasn't looking at her. There were only two people in the room: himself, and Wilhelmina who was still lying in bed, unconscious. Actually technically speaking there was three if you count Tiamat in. Michiru did not dare to ask Tiamat how was Wilhelmina's condition, since he thought that she would ignore him anyway. Tiamat never speaks unless necessary; she barely even speaks to Wilhelmina.

Then again, there was probably no need to ask. Wilhelmina looked perfectly fine, since Margery had cleaned her wounds. If Rebecca hadn't told him about the battle, he would think that she was sleeping instead. Michiru had never noticed, but Wilhelmina looked very peaceful in her sleep. Her eyes were closed, so he could not see the loneliness in her eyes that she always wore. However, not seeing it does not mean that it does not exist. Michiru knew Wilhelmina was still suffering deep inside even as she slept; she could not let go of the cruel past she had gone through.

"Every time I look into your eyes I see the loneliness within you... That's why I swore to protect you," he said, "But..."

He never managed to protect her. Not even once. Ever since Michiru came to Misaki City, Wilhelmina had gotten involved with him and his cat-and-mouse chase with the four Mystes. And Wilhelmina had gotten herself hurt countless times because of him.

"I... end up causing you more harm instead..." he said sadly, "If I never came to Misaki..."

No, then that meant that he and Wilhelmina would have never met. He did not want that. All the memories he had with Wilhelmina, he couldn't exchange that for Wilhelmina's happiness. He knew he was selfish. Besides, it's not as if Wilhelmina's life would definitely take a 180 degree turn if Michiru had never met her. That's why, he had to be the one to protect her and get rid of her loneliness. That was the reason on that fateful day they met. That's what he thought.

He had no memories of himself. Margery had told him why. Golden erases the memories of the Torch it possesses. And somehow, whether it was Golden who changed his thinking, or he himself had been that way, he had no desire to regain back his memories. Now that he thought about it, what was the reason for that? Were his memories that painful that he did not want to recall them? And as for Wilhelmina, who had such a tragic past, how did she feel about Michiru not having any memories? Did she think that he was lucky? Would Wilhelmina rather not have any memories at all? He had never dared to ask...

But memories are what makes a person a person. If Wilhelmina had never gone through all that, she would not have been the Wilhelmina she was today. She would have been a whole different person with a different personality. However, _this_ was the Wilhelmina that he loved. The sadness in her eyes, the aura of loneliness emitting from her, and the tough face she put up made him feel obliged to protect and love her. If Wilhelmina didn't possess any of these traits, he would not have felt attracted to her, and probably would have ended up with someone else instead. It was Wilhelmina's sad memories that pulled them together, and it felt wrong to him.

"The reason that I like you... is because you suffered in the past? Man, that's messed up... I don't want you to get hurt, but that's the reason I have feelings for you now. In other words, I was glad that you were hurt in the past, because that's what that's given me the opportunity to love you now. I really am cruel, aren't I?"

He had no idea why he was feeling guilty about it. It was not his fault that Wilhelmina had such a sad past; he was merely feeling slightly glad that she did.

"Why the hell am I even thinking like that?" he muttered angrily.

Just then Rebecca entered the room, making the scene look very comical.

"Why the hell are you even talking to yourself?" Rebecca said irritably, scratching her hair.

"You were being so noisy that we can't sleep." Balar said.

Michiru went red in the face. Did he really talk that loud? Or did Rebecca have a heightened sense of hearing when it came to sensitive matters? Well, he doubt that; Rebecca's a tomboy.

"I feel like shit..." He said. "I just realized something that I shouldn't have..."

"What?" Rebecca threw him an irritated glance, "You didn't do anything to her, did you?"

"It's nothing of the sort..." Michiru sighed. He can't even put his words properly and made everything sound so wrong.

"Something's very wrong with you. You're not sleeping when it's time to sleep and you're talking to yourself."

"Shut up, Rebecca." Michiru said angrily, "I'm just worried about her."

"You should worry about yourself even more, ha ha." Rebecca laughed, "And besides, I keep telling you that she's fine. She's just exhausted because she used too much energy. She'll awake soon without any repercussions, I'm certain."

"She hasn't fully recovered from Sabrac's attack. She lost a lot of blood. I may have somehow closed her wounds with Golden's powers, but that didn't restore her blood. She was still looking pale the past few days."

"We keep telling her to conserve her energy, but she wouldn't listen. She wanted to heal us no matter what. Although her wounds were less serious than ours, she was still suffering. She was in no condition to cast spells, but she still did it." Rebecca said.

"And now she's overdone it... Her body couldn't take such a toll..." Michiru said sadly.

"I feel guilty about it though... If I had realized sooner that something strange was going on, maybe I wouldn't have gotten hurt, then Wilhelmina wouldn't have wasted more of her energy on me."

"Nobody is to blame for that except for the villains." Balar said calmly. Michiru had to agree with him.

"She's really stubborn... She cares about others more than she cares about herself."

"Mm-hmm... That's what I used to tell her, but she never listens." Rebecca said, nodding, "She thinks it's okay to even sacrifice herself as long as her allies are saved. I mean, it's okay to worry about your allies' condition, but... Meh, I dunno... I think she's really brave though; I wouldn't have done that..."

"That's not being brave, that's being stupid..."

Michiru remembered the day he brought her to the fun fair. Wilhelmina had forced herself to fight Sabrac when she was feeling weak. She did not even think of giving up even when she was already bleeding very badly...

But he couldn't blame her. Not then, not now. Wilhelmina had wanted to protect him against Sabrac although she was hurt, and being the weakling that he was, he could not do anything but watch her fight and get hurt. It was his fault. Although he had made up for his uselessness by her wounds, he could not free himself from the guilt. The image of Wilhelmina bleeding out, the sound of her weak voice, and the coldness of her body... He shuddered to think that Wilhelmina was this close to dying on that day. If she had listened to him and escaped instead... but then again he wondered how they were going to do that. Sabrac was as quick as lightning; he could chase them down at any day of the week.

"But still... One of you could have died or end up in a worse condition if she hadn't helped you." Michiru said. "I think she's just doing what she thinks is right."

"My wounds are okay! It could have healed on its own anyway... I was just taken by surprise!" Rebecca said agitatedly. "Although I think Margery and Elise were in pretty bad shape... You know what, let's stop talking about this; it's depressing everyone."

"You would rather I tease you again?" Michiru asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Hell no!" Rebecca answered angrily, making Balar laugh amusingly.

"You two make a rather entertaining couple." Balar commented. Rebecca went red instantly.

"Oi, Balar! Don't say misleading things that like!" Rebecca clenched her fist. "And besides..."

She placed her arm around Michiru's neck in a brotherly sort of way. "This dude has a maid fetish." She joked. "So I won't stand a chance unless-"

"Unless you put on a maid's costume yourself." Michiru calmly removed Rebecca's arm from his shoulders. "But the difference between you and Wilhelmina is that she looks good in a maid's dress and you don't."

"What the HELL do you mean by that!?" Rebecca screamed. She punched him hard in the face and he was blown off his feet.

"It means... that we get along well, Rebecca..." He said weakly as he lay on the floor. He had no idea why, but he really liked to tease Rebecca.

"I'm getting outta here... I'll lose my sanity if I keep talking with this guy." Rebecca said irritably. "And you better keep that damned mouth of yours shut from this second onwards because I'm going to SLEEP!"

She slammed the door angrily, leaving Michiru staring at the door dumbfounded. He could hear Balar trying to calm her down from the other side of the door.

_That was one hell of a weird conversation..._He thought. After recovering from Rebecca's attack, he stood up and looked at Wilhelmina. She had not moved an inch even after all that commotion in the room which could have woken up even the deepest sleepers. He sighed. On one hand, he was glad that Wilhelmina was finally getting the rest she deserved; she had barely any rest ever since she was involved with him. On the other hand, seeing Wilhelmina closing her eyes like this gave him the creeps that Wilhelmina was never going to wake up again, although he knew perfectly well that she was breathing normally. The battle against Sabrac still gave him the creeps.

No, he must not dwell on it. He could control his powers better now. He had flown all the way here from Misaki in such a short amount of time that even the best Flame Hazes could not have done so. Thinking about it gave him confidence.

"That's right... I just have to protect you from now on. So what if your past was painful? It won't matter anymore. I can't change your past, but I will ease your pain and make you feel loved. That is what I can do for your sake."

Happiness. What is happiness indeed? Happiness does not mean not feeling any pain. Happiness is actually converting the pain that you felt into equal amount of bliss. For example, most of you who are reading this right now face no problem of food shortage. But those in Africa do. So, when you eat, you will not feel the happiness of eating like those in Africa do, because you get to eat thrice every day, as opposed to them who probably eat only twice a week. Still, when you are eating expensive food, like Wagyu Steak, you will appreciate the food more because it's not what you get to eat on a daily basis. In other words, if your next meal is rice/bread, you won't appreciate the food, because that's what you eat all the time, but if you eat something exquisite for your next meal, you'll treasure it, because you have never tasted before. To summarize everything, you will feel bliss only if you feel pain. Those two go hand in hand. Those who never felt pain will never feel bliss.

Michiru understood: if Wilhelmina had not felt all those pain in the past, she would not appreciate the love he was showing her now. That was the reason he felt glad that Wilhelmina had a sad past. He still felt guilty for thinking that way, but he knew this was the only opening that was given to him for a shot at wooing her. He would have to be cruel and capitalize on her weakness if he wanted her to be his. Then he can repay for his sins by loving her double the amount of the hurt Merihim had inflicted on her. _That's right, there was no reason to feel guilty... I love her from the bottom of my heart. I truly do. I'm not in love with her because of some childish reasons like wanting to be manly in front of a damsel in distress. There's no mistake about that. _ He told himself. _I want to protect her from harm. I want to love her with all I have._ _This is the reason I existed- for her sake._

His meaningless quarrel with Rebecca had certainly helped cheer him up. He was being very optimistic.

"Good night, Wilhelmina. Sweet dreams." He said as he leaned down to kiss her on the forehead, but...

Rebecca Reed kicked the door open and was looking extremely furious.

"I thought I told you to shut up!?" She grabbed his shirt bellowed at him.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Michiru howled instantly. Then his expression changed as he looked at someone standing behind her. Margery was staring at Rebecca with a ridiculously deadly look, her hair very messy and her eye bags were darker than a panda's. Rebecca turned around and dropped Michiru. She backed off, waving "no" with her hands.

"You do realize that you are disturbing my sleep, don't you!?" Margery spoke in a calm manner, but both Michiru and Rebecca had felt the rage within her.

"Yes, yes, yes, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Rebecca knelt down and prayed, "I'm sorry, I won't dare-"

With a howl of rage, Margery slammed Marchosias onto Rebecca's head mercilessly. The grimoire did not even dare to mutter a word. Margery was that angry and he knew why: Rebecca (and Michiru?) had disturbed her sleep.

Rebecca was instantly knocked out. Michiru stared wide-eyed at her. Then Margery aimed for Michiru.

"No no no! She was the one who started it! Hear me out! I-" He tried to explain, but...

There came a loud slam. Followed by excruciating pain at the back of his head.

"What's wrong with the women in this house...?" He muttered.

Then he blacked out.


End file.
